Fourteen years after TFATF

Growing up in a male-dominated family of mechanics, I didn't have much feminine influence aside from my dad's sister, Mia; didn't know much about my mom either, other than that I got her smart mouth and her temper. I began my "official" mechanic training when I was 9, even though Vince and Leon had been teaching me stuff when Dad wasn't looking. Before that, I'd been confined to the store when I wasn't at school or at soccer practice.
I have memories of her from when I was little, like before she left or whatever, but they're all just flashes of incomplete things, and I'd never seen her face because Dad and Vince packed up all her stuff; like he wanted to forget she'd even been a part of his life.

For the first four or five years that I was old enough to realize that she wasn't there, I wished she'd come back—like on my birthday or something stupid like that—but after years of nothing happening; I gave up on it as I began to cave to Mia's attempts at being a mom or something.

Chapter One: All the Wrong Reasons

I remember the first time I saw her. I was fourteen; a freshman in high school. It was late August and hotter than hell. I was helping Vince replace the NOS valves on a Firebird some nut job Leon knew blew out when she came in. Vince dropped the lead replacement valve on my foot when he saw her; which led to my knee being smashed in to the grille plating and my hand being sliced into the jagged edge of the fragmented valve.

"Goddamnit Vince! What the hell is wrong with you?!" I seethed as I quickly left the room to clean the wound on my hand; I could live with the pain in my knee but I couldn't work efficiently in the garage with my hand bleeding non-stop. The washroom wasn't far from the main area of the garage so I was able to hear his conversation with the woman.

"What are you doing here, Letty?" he asked, his eyes watching me carefully as I went back to work on the Firebird.
"Dom around?" she asked. I nearly hit my head on the hood of the car when I heard her speak. I recognized that voice; I knew I did but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before.

"He's in the office," he said smugly. I looked up from removing the remaining valves and gave him a questioning look as he came over.

"What was that about?" I asked as he took the wrench from my hand. "And why didn't you drool over her like you do every other chick that comes up in here?" Vince glared warningly at me.

"Don't worry about it, Maya." He said tersely through clenched teeth. "It doesn't concern you."

"Then why was she watching me like a hawk?" I demanded, quickly tiring of V's games. "It's not like it's her or something, right?"

"No."

His answer was immediate; coming almost too quickly for it not to be a lie. My head immediately went to the dog tags which hung from my neck, right beside my crucifix and the key to my mother's car. From what Mia had told me when I was little, the tags were one of the only things she'd left behind that I was legally entitled to before a certain age. The rest of it was locked up in a safety deposit box in the bank; and it couldn't be opened until I turned eighteen.

Even though I'd asked countless times, none of my father's team would tell me what her name was. I knew the maiden name but that was it. Rodriguez. The only photograph I'd seen of her was in Dom's wallet, which I never had access to. That night at supper, I was quieter than I'd been in years.

"Dad, who was that woman who came into the garage this afternoon?" I asked causing Dom to practically gag on the egg roll he was eating. The others waited expectantly for Dom's response when Mia dragged me out of the dining room and back into the kitchen.

"Maya, its one thing to ask Vince and Leon about whom your mother was but it's a whole different ballgame asking Dom point blank."

"It was her, wasn't it? The girl Vince was talkin' to this morning was my mother."
"Maya, I didn't say that, so don't go jumping to conclusions like that." Mia said, placing both her hands on my shoulders. "I wasn't there this morning so I can't say for sure but by what the guys have told me, you're gonna be stuck at the shop with me for a while."

"That's ridiculous!" I sniped.

"Maya, he's just trying to protect you!"

"Protect me from what exactly?" I demanded, slowly losing my patience. "What's the big secret that nobody thinks I can handle knowing about?"

"There are certain things that Dom has asked us not to tell you about. But I will say this: your parents love you. Your father gave up street racing so he could be here for you…"

"When she left me because she didn't want me!" I snarled back as I stormed out of the kitchen. Mia followed me out. Halfway up the stairs, she spoke.

"Maya Natalia Toretto, I don't know why your mother left you here but I do know that she loved you." As she said this, I saw red and lost control.

"You know, Mia, they have a label for someone like you: wishful thinkers. You trick yourself into believing that trash you say about my ma because Brian made you fall for the enemy and then he left you when he broke his case." Mia opened her mouth to reply but I cut her off. "The thing is, in order for Team Toretto to make a clean break you and O'Connor couldn't see each other anymore." I wanted so say more, god knows I was angry enough to but the look on Dad's face gave way to the penalty if I continued my tirade. I turned and stormed the rest of the way up the stairs and slammed the door of my room just hard enough to shake the window panes and the frames on the wall.

Seconds later, the front door slammed, followed by footsteps on the stairs. They weren't heavy enough to have been my dad's, so I waited for whoever it was to reach the top of the stairs and knock.

"I know you're in there, Maya. I just wanna talk. Your dad's gone out after Mia; Vince is tailing him." I let the breath I didn't know I'd been holding out. Leon was my big brother, even if he was my dad's age. He'd known my mom but he'd never wanted to talk about her when I'd asked. All he ever said was that I look like her and that she'd be proud of who I was turning into.

I stood and opened the door, wiping furiously at the remaining tears that were on my face.

"Maya, I should have given these to you a few years ago but when the time came, I'd completely forgotten about them." I stared back at him in bewilderment.

"Leon, brother, what are you talking about?" he held up a cardboard box, which I eyed cautiously. "What's this, man?"

"Letters that your moms wrote you before she—you know." I nodded as he continued. "There's supposed to be a letter in here for different stuff. Ain't quite sure but I guess they're supposed to explain this shit or something." He turned to leave but I put a hand on his arm.

"Le, how angry is he?" Leon sighed and sat down against the wall.

"He's protective of Mia, an' even more so when it comes to you. But back there, you came closer than any of us has in a long time to crossing a line. Mia gave up a lot to help Dom take care of you. Your moms took care of Mi when Dom was in Lompoc; so I guess she felt obligated to return the favor."

"Obligated? That's a three syllable word, Le…"

"Don't change the subject!" I laughed at Leon's attempt at being intelligent.

The front door slammed and I could see my dad's Veilside in the drive and before I realized it, he was standing in my room holding the door shut, and Leon was the only thing standing between us. Ironically, for what I'd said to Mia, he didn't seem all that angry.

"Maya Natalia…I am not mad at you but I am very disappointed and embarrassed by your behavior and what you said to your Aunt today. She gave up her future to take care of you as if you were her own."

"Did you know about the letters, Daddy?" I asked, looking him dead in the eyes.

"What are you talking about? What letters?"

"The ones Mami left for me that Leon never gave me until now!" I went back into my room and shut the door. I sat down on the bed and hesitantly lifted the lid from the box.

Looking at the writing on the envelopes was almost like looking at my own handwriting; the date on the first letter was 14 years ago the day I was born.

'Maya,

I'm sittin' here in a hospital bed in the maternity ward of all places; at LA General. I always thought that Mia would be the first one here. I bet you're wondering why our family is the way it is. I grew up down the street from Dom and Mia. He and Vince have been friends since they were kids; Leon an' Jesse just showed up one night at the races and never left…'

"That explains our family but not the flashbacks of when I was a baby…"

I was lost in my thoughts when I realized that Leon was standing in front of me again, holding a box simply labeled, Rodriguez on the sides.

"What is this, Leon?"

"More stuff that you're supposed to get now; it's been sitting up the attic collecting dust for a decade and a half." He answered, putting the box on the bed and pulling the lid off. The first item that caught my attention was a bag full of receipts, the original envelopes of photographs lay just beneath it.

"Leon, please tell me you know why these receipts are charged for double copies of photos from when I was born to the night of my fourteenth birthday?"

"You should ask Mia about those…" Leon answered taking the bag from my hand and placed it behind him. "You've asked about your mom and Dom and all that shit; Mia would be the one to go to, she's made scrapbooks for years now; she just focused herself on the team, and keeping us together."

"Does she still have it? The one she made for Dad and Letty, I mean?"

"If we do, it's up in the attic. I'll get V to help dig those out later. See you started in on the letters; learn anything?" I snorted at him.

"Aside from you having been here forever, no… 'Vince has been around for as long as Mia…he and Dom have been friends since the 3rd. He's always had a thing for her and he's been wrapped around her finger all along. You're safe here, Maya; safer than you'd be if I was still there. Blood's more than power to the Torettos; they'll take care of you and you'll always be welcome. Stay safe—Ma.' " I looked at Leon, feeling both anger and resentment stirring. "I…I'm not exactly allowed in the attic by myself."

Leon nodded and headed out into the hall. I followed as he pushed the cover of the attic up into a perpendicular position and hoisted himself up into the attic.

"You're not just going to leave me where I stand, are you, Leon?" I asked sweetly. He'd disappeared a moment earlier into the shadows of the attic but returned almost immediately, hanging so that he could pull me up easier.

"What exactly are we looking for up here, Maya?" He stood as he asked, brushing off the knees of his jeans off with his hands.

"I'm not really sure. I just get the feeling that there's something she's not telling me in the letters. I still wanna find that scrapbook; but home movies, old photo albums; something like that. I want to find something that has her photo in it." Leon looked at me like I was crazy. "What, is it so wrong for me to want to know what my own mother looked like?"

"Last I heard, the books were under the window over there; but the tapes might be a little harder to find." As I turned to go to the other end of the attic, I saw Leon reach into his pocket for something which wound up being a mini flashlight.

"Here. You might need this." He said as he tossed it to me.
In under half an hour, I'd found the box with the scrap books in it.

"I found it but I can't read half of the stuff that's written in here. I think it's Italian, maybe Portuguese." I said, setting the book on the end table behind me and continued rummaging through the boxes. I found photos of the entire team and eventually came across a face that I didn't recognize, even though I felt like I knew her.

"Leon, I think I found her. Seriously, bro; get your ass over here and tell me this woman is where I get my looks from already!" Leon walked over and took the photo out of my hand.

"Oh, yeah, that's her alright. She and Dom met when she was twelve or some shit like that…D spent so much time watching her it was…I dunno…crazy shit right there."

"Leo, you know where she is, don't you? There's no logical way in hell that, in nearly twenty years, that you haven't seen her or at least talked to her a few times."

"Maya, your pops'd kill me if I took you to see her. I would, but I need the job and the place I sleep at night."

"Fine. I'll get Hector to take me; or maybe Edwin'd do it." Leon howled at this.

"Girlie, you're fucked up if you think Dom Toretto would ever let you get in a car with either of them. I'll take you." My face lit up at this.

"Today?" I asked, somehow praying he'd give me the answer I wanted and grant the one wish I'd had for longer than I could remember. "Leon, please. Just this one time; of all the insane things I've ever asked of you that I knew I'd never get, please. Just let me have this one. If she really doesn't want me, let her say it to my face. I need the closure of hearing it with my own ears." I could feel the tears building behind my eyes

"It's midnight now, if we leave in 5, we'll be in Santa Rosa by sunrise."

"Let's go, then. You're driving, I need to sleep." I slept fitfully, filled with surreal dreams that made me question my motive for begging Leon to take me to Santa Rosa. I spent half the ride staring at the clock and the other half staring at the stars as Leon flew down the highway.

"Leon, what if I was right, about her not wanting me, and Dad was just trying to protect me from getting hurt?"

"There's only one thing that could ever make your dad hate you, Maya—becoming involved with Johnny Tran. Anything else will fade. Because of whom you are nobody with half a brain would dare lay a hand on you."

"Hour and twenty minutes till sunrise." I said. "Do they have street races in Santa Rosa?"

"I don't know and you're not supposed to be racing anyway."

"You're fuckin' pathetic, Leon. You know that? My god, have I messed all of you up this badly?"
"I meant you're not s'posed to race in LA…I never said nothin' 'bout Santa Rosa."

"What good is that when I can't even get behind the wheel of one of those cars?" I shot back. I was probably as shocked at myself as Leon was at my response but that wasn't about to stop me. "I'm sick to hell of everyone treating me like one of those prissy-assed china dolls! I'm sick of being lied to…fourteen years of secrets is way more than enough!" my ranting must have lasted longer than I thought because the next, he'd killed the engine and was getting out of the car.

"Last chance to turn back, kid."

"If I don't do this now, I never will." I muttered to myself. My nerves soon set in and I found myself pulling Leon's freshly lit cigarette and claiming it as my own.

"Are you gonna smoke like that till I'm sure she's awake?" he asked, nodding towards the house I could barely see.

"You feel like messin' wit her car?"

"It's too dark for that and I don't need another count of GTA."

"Well then I'ma find something to key…" I'd barely made it past him when he grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"Whoa, you got enough on your record to put you in Juvie for a nickel. I'd be in it neck-deep if you got put away and I didn't even try to stop you."

"If you were to wake her up now, what would she do?"

"Yell her ass off and then go back to bein' the old Letty." He answered a mischievous twinkle in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a while.

"What are you gonna do? I know you and I know when you're up to somethin', man!"

"I'ma go up to the door, you right be hind me and when we get up there, I'ma ring the bell with you out of sight; when it's time I'll signal you."

"Why so cocky, Leon?"

"Not cocky just rememberin' all the hell we raised. Let's go."
We reached the door and I moved to turn and leave when I felt a hand on my shoulder.