A/N. Hi all, I know it's been a very long time and I am so so sorry for that. I am currently caught up in all the chaos of exams and A Levels and trying to get into university so I have not had enough time as I would have wanted.
For anyone that actually remembers the existence of In Her Skin, I promise you that the last chapters are coming. I have a couple written out from when I first started writing that are ready to be posted but I still need to wrap the story up. I had planned for it to be longer but I just don't love it like I used to anymore :(
Dotty FM will hopefully be continued. I have one that is half way through, again from ages ago, so I want to try and put that out there when I can. My last exam is the 29th of June so fingers crossed I can spend my summer coming up with some bits and bobs.
Anyway, this contains spoilers for F8, don't read if you don't know what happens and enjoy :)
Letty and Dom sat in the middle of the park, both silent as the hustle and bustle of New York City took over them. It was the first time they had seen each other since landing back in America, the revelation of Dom's son and the shock of his betrayal still weighing heavily on Letty's mind. She understood why he had gone, and he knew that she accepted his actions, but she was helpless in her brain's reaction to the news.
When they had been reunited, Letty knew that Dom was coming home. That Cipher hadn't destroyed their marriage, the kiss they shared nothing more than a show and the pain they had caused was nothing more than a means to an end. She was grateful that Dom had made it out alive and she knew that he had a damn good reason for leaving her, for leaving his team. However, what he had told her was not what she expected. When he told her on the flight home, she had left her seat and sat next to Roman, not meeting his eyes for the rest of the journey.
Letty had asked for space when they landed, telling Dom that she would text when she was ready to talk and that she loved him; it was the one thing she could never deny.
Now, she was ready to talk. Ready to find out everything she needed to know in preparation for this new life that they would have. The three of them as a family. She knew Elena was his mother and that she was dead. Letty had no idea how they would make this into a family but she knew they would – eventually.
"Letty, if I could have told you, I would have." Dom started. The atmosphere was awkward, neither one of them wanting to start the conversation, both in fear of the outcome and at a complete loss of words.
"I know, this is why we're here now. I know that you did what you did in order to protect him. But I just don't know where we go from here, I know that Elena is not around and that you are effectively a single dad..." Her words trailed off.
"I don't have to be though," Dom said tentatively. "Letty, I want you to be by my side. I want you to stand by me and help me through everything. I know we talked about this in Cuba and that this was never the road we thought we'd be taking but we've always worked with what we've had."
Dom's tone was pleading. Her silence was only fuelling his doubts that she would leave. He wanted them to be a family and to live together, adding more children and happiness into their lives. He knew that this wasn't what she wanted. Every woman wanted to be the first to give their husband a child and Letty could no longer give him this. The situation was unfortunate and if Dom could change it, he would.
"There is nothing inside me that wants me to give up on what we have," Letty started. She felt surprisingly calm, a stark contrast to the few days she had spent alone in her hotel room, screaming and chucking things across the room. For the first time in a long time her world had gone dark, the future blurry and everything she had ever believed in was smashed to pieces. "I want you, Dom. I'll always want you."
"So how do we make this work?"
"I have no idea. When is he coming?" She couldn't bring herself to say his name. She knew that she loved this child, his connection to Dom was the only thing she ever needed to know that he was family - and she loved her family.
"Later today. We're having dinner on the roof if you want to join us. Shaw is bringing him."
"I'll think about that. Dom, you will never be a single dad because I will always stand by you; that's pretty obviously at this point. I have had every opportunity to leave and I never have. I stay because I love you and that will never go away."
"Letty, you will be a brilliant mum."
"I'm not his mum, Dom. I can't take that away from Elena or try to replace her and do her job for her. I know she's not here but he needs to know that she exists and that she loved him and protected him for a long as possible."
"You don't have to be his mum, you can just be Letty," Dom bargained, they had made so many steps in just one conversation that he didn't want to set them back even further.
Letty grabbed his hand and pulled it over on to her lap. She squeezed lightly and gave him a small smile. Together they sat in silence, her actions showing Dom that the conversation was done and that she didn't want to talk about it anymore. The moment passed over them, Dom's thumb subconsciously rubbing against the back of Letty's hand.
A ringing broke their moment of peace, Dom's phone flashing 'Roman' as he texted asking if they were eating any time soon. Letty looked over and saw, chuckling to herself as she commented on how they were always hungry.
"You better go."
"I'll see you later?" Dom said hopefully.
"Maybe. I need a bit of time to think."
"I understand, maybe later then." Dom leant down and kissed her on the cheek before walking off to the roof and the rest of his family. He hoped that Letty would join them but understood that she might not.
It was to his surprise that she slipped her hand around his bicep and kissed him on the shoulder later that day. It was like she already knew that was troubling him as soon as she arrived. "Don't worry, he'll be here soon."
And when he did arrive, she saw Dom come alive. He scooped him out of his car seat and held him in the air, his eyes conveying a love that he had only ever given to her before.
Then he introduced Letty as the most important person in his universe and she knew that it was going to be okay. That their family was going to pick itself up and secure itself back together again.
She knew she could never replace Elena and nor did she want to. But at this point, she finally understood that she could be there and offer a love that no other woman could. Did she still feel betrayed? Absolutely. But could she see past that and forward to the life that was waiting for them? Definitely.
