This chapter is mostly for Dotty fans with a side of Brian/Mia/Aiden. I hope you like it!
"Dom!" Letty shouted, running towards his car just as he was about to reverse from the parking lot. Once Brian left to go to the hospital, Letty made sure Mia and Aiden were okay before going to check up on the oldest Toretto. As much as he pretended to be a tough guy, she knew that he hurt deeply.
Dom hit the brakes and rolled down the window. "What is it Letty?"
In attempt to lighten the mood, she changed the subject from what she knew was consuming his thoughts. "You can't just leave a girl hanging after you promised her food. I'm dying here."
He grinned and nudged towards the passenger side, signaling that she should get in. Dom couldn't explain it, but when he was around Letty, he just knew that everything would be okay. She had a calming effect on him, which was ironic considering her tempermatic nature. He never expected for things to be the way they were between them but he supposed fate played a part in all the best surprises.
After working with her for the last few years and witnessing just how capable she was with both fixing and racing cars, his respect transformed to admiration. Then with the help of bottle of tequila on a bad night, he recognized it wasn't just admiration he felt; it was also desire.
Sure, the alcohol could be used to explain their first night together but it would be a copout. The very next day when he awoke with a splitting headache to the sound of her throwing up in a nearby garbage can, he still felt that desire. She wasn't just a fling for him and he didn't dread seeing her the morning after. He yearned to be closer to her all the time; even now as she absentmindedly sat right next to him and toyed with the radio.
He went to move her hand when she passed a station that he liked, and their skin came into contact. Instead of retracting, he laced her fingers with his own and brought them to rest by her thigh.
Letty looked down at their interwoven hands and then to Dom's face. She lifted herself up, as much as the seatbelt would allow, and placed kisses along the edge of his jaw. Feeling the warmth of her breath on his skin sent his mind into frenzy. He was a skilled driver but her actions proved to be too much of a distraction. He had other girls do far more to him as he focused his attention on the road but none of them ever made him feel the way Letty did. Just a simple kiss from her made him feel like he was on the brink of crashing. She was an unexplainable adrenaline.
XX
"Are you okay Mommy?" Aiden asked, seeing that his mother was visibly upset over what had happened.
Mia forced a smile. "I'm alright baby." She set down the toy racecar she had been gliding around the table and looked at her son with admiration. Despite all the obstacles she faced in life to get to this point, Aiden was the hardest and best thing she ever did. "Let me make you something to eat. How do chocolate chip pancakes sound?"
His face lit up. "Really? Its not even a special day!"
She nodded. "I think every day I get to spend with you is pretty special." Affectionately tousling his hair, she gave him a kiss on forehead and went to the kitchen portion once more. Upon seeing the forgotten coffee and plate, she was reminded of Brian and his return to town.
For brief a moment, they actually had a conversation that didn't revolve around her problems and it was obvious he had been attracted to her. She hadn't felt that way in years and sadly, she never expected to again.
Everyone from her younger years knew all about her downward spiral after her father's death and she desperately yearned to be freed from all that baggage. Mia had no idea what it was like to have a mother, so when the only parent she ever had suddenly wasn't there anymore, it was heart-wrenching. She had lost control of her emotions and everything she once cared so much for become irrelevant. She reasoned that there was no point in doing well in school if Tony wasn't there to see her graduate and she had no desire to get married if he couldn't be there to walk her down the isle. At the time she also tried to convince herself that she didn't need to pretend to be innocent and in addition to underage drinking, she let her guard down long enough for someone she trusted to take advantage of her. She dealt with the stigma of a teenage pregnancy at the age of seventeen and the memories of those months still had an effect on her body and soul.
However once Aiden was born, all of her reckless behaviour changed. Thanks to Dom and Letty, she was able to turn her life around and go to college and fulfill a dream of working in medicine. Although she was no longer aiming to be a doctor, being a nurse sure beat the hell out of knocking on the door of unemployment.
Outwardly, she tried to move on even if her inner emotions were a little slower at catching up.
XX
It was now or never, Brian tried to tell himself as he stood outside his mother's hospital room. He breathed in and out to prepare himself for an encounter he never planned on having again.
"Okay, here goes," he muttered, pushing open the door. He didn't know what to expect, but it certainly wasn't the sight portrayed in front of him. All he saw were wires and machines attached to a woman in bed that vaguely resembled his once vibrant mother.
"Bri?" Grace called out, trying her best to sit up.
Brian rushed over to her and assisted her. "Let me help you Mom."
Grace managed a weak smile and touched his face. "I really missed you sweetheart."
"I missed you too," he said, sitting down beside the bed and taking in his surroundings once more. "More than I realized, to be honest."
"That makes me happy." Grace then focused her eyes on the TV on the wall and laughed randomly. "Do you remember how excited you use to get when I'd wake up early to watch Saturday cartoons with you?"
"Yeah," said Brian, turning his attention to the screen as well. "You would make this huge breakfast and we'd just sit in front of the TV for hours. The Flintstones was always our favourite."
"Those were good times," grinned Grace. "I think that was the only part of your childhood where I remembered you being truly happy around me."
"You were never the problem," Brian insisted. "Dad would just always find a way to ruin everything for us and I got tired of you letting him."
Grace turned off the TV and faced her son. After a decade apart, she took the time to truly notice all that had changed. His hair was a little longer than she remembered, he had a little more stubble, and he had grown even taller. One thing that hadn't changed were those beautiful blue eyes. "I don't want to fight Bri. I don't want to talk about your father and I especially don't want to talk about the cancer. I want to know about all the adventures you were brave enough to have these past few years. I just want to know who my son has become."
XX
"I like this place," Dom stated as he stared up at the ceiling in Letty's room. "Why haven't I been here before?
Lifting her head up from his shoulder, she responded to his inquiry with another question. "To my apartment or in my bed?"
He pondered for a moment before smiling and replying, "Both."
"You have been here. Don't you remember carrying all those boxes up four flights of stairs when I first moved in?" She sat up now, making sure to wrap a sheet securely around her bare frame. Despite having been with Dom countless times now, it felt too intimate to lay there too long after the deed was done.
"No, but I do remember carrying you up two flights of stairs just over an hour ago," he retorted, turning his attention from the ceiling to her face. "You are extremely out of shape."
Letty playfully shoved him, as if attempting to push him off the bed. "I am not! I just had no energy because someone keeps forgetting to feed me."
"Oh really?" he laughed, moving to his side and propping up his arm to rest his head. "I seem to remember you being all over me in the car. Something about wanting me more than two burgers and a chocolate covered sundae?"
She blushed, covering her face with her hands. "I know, I know. I have a large appetite. What's a girl to do?"
"I like that about you." Dom reached over and pulled her hands away. He rarely saw Letty embarrassed about anything so he wasn't going to let her hide. "So…" he said, kissing the inside of her right hand. "How about I go into your kitchen and cook up a feast and then we can continue to work off all those extra calories in bed?"
"Aside from the fact that there is no food in my house, I have to go to work soon," said Letty. She stood from the bed and was looking at the floor for her clothes before realizing they were practically undressed by the time they reached the living room.
He sat up. "Are you forgetting that I'm your boss and you are not scheduled to work today? You can't just run from me Letty."
She crossed her arms and took a step closer to him. "I'm not running. I genuinely enjoy…" The sound of a phone cut her off. "Hold that thought."
Dom watched as she left to follow the sound of the ringing and took the time to truly examine the place that was solely Letty's. Truthfully, he never interacted with her much outside of his house or at work. It never really occurred to him that she had another place to call home since she was such a prominent fixture in his.
The walls were painted a deep shade of red and the furniture was white. Multiple pictures were hung or placed everywhere; most were of cars but there were quite a few sentimental images too. Pictures of her family, Mia, drawings Aiden made for her, and he even spotted a few shots of him with the crew from the auto shop.
"Okay!" Letty announced as returned with a bowl in hand. She was now wearing a blue bathrobe and she threw the sheet towards him. "I found a way to make things interesting!"
He raised an eyebrow and was about to speak but Letty leaped on the bed and placed a finger against his mouth. "Let me finish Toretto!" Now straddling him, she waited for his attention. "Lets have a grape eating contest!"
"I'm probably going to lose if I try to refuse, so what are the terms?" he asked. Letty took a grape from the bowl and put it in front of his mouth. He opened, allowing her to feed him as she explained.
"We're going to stand on the opposite sides of the room and each of us has to throw five grapes, which we have to catch with our mouths. The one who catches the most wins."
Dom shrugged and offered Letty a grape. He then began playing with a section of her hair, twirling it around repeatedly. "Sounds simple. What does the winner gain?"
She swallowed the fruit before answering. "I don't know what you want, but I'm aiming for a five course meal AND the rights to your car for an entire week."
"You're really that confident?" Dom was intrigued as she slowly nodded and bit her lip. "Fine. If I win, you do the shop's paperwork for a month. Actually, if you just offered to do the paperwork anyway I would gladly buy you dinner every night."
Letty leaned in. "What's the fun in that?" She ate one more grape and then stuffed two in his mouth.
"You're going down," he said, attempting to stand with her weight still on his legs.
"Wait," she said and pushed him back. "First we need to work off all those extra grapes you just ate. We don't want you to be out of shape right? Then we may never reach my apartment in time."
Dom's laugh echoed through the room. He grabbed onto the belt of her robe and pulled her closer to him. "You are a wild one Leticia."
As he began to shower her neck with kisses, she whispered into his ear. "Don't ever call me that again Dominic."
XX
Mia had decided to close the diner a few hours early so she could spend the rest of her Saturday with her son. She knew Dom wouldn't mind, especially due to the lack of customers.
Together, the mother-son duo walked down their street hand-in-hand. The diner wasn't a far walk from the house and Mia avoided driving as much as she could. Ever since her father's accident she had been extra precautious, unlike Dom.
Aiden soon spotted Brian climbing a ladder outside the O'Conner house and ran ahead of his mother to say hello. "Hi Brian!"
"Aiden!" Mia called out as she picked up her pace to catch up with him. "You can't go running from me like that!"
The boy turned to his mother and apologized before bringing his attention back to Brian.
"How's my favourite baseball player doing?" Brian asked, climbing back down from the ladder after seeing Mia. He didn't like how things ended this morning and wanted to apologize.
"Am I missing something?" the woman asked as she looked between her son and former neighbour. "How do you know each other?"
"We met today," Aiden stated matter-of-factly. "He's awesome!"
Brian chuckled. The kid had charisma, that much was for sure.
"While I don't doubt that, how did you come to such a conclusion? You never said a word to him at the diner." Mia rested both hands on her hips and looked at her son.
"We ran into each other before that," Brian explained, filling in the blanks. He pointed with his thumb to the window of his parent's house. "There was a little incident…"
"Oh god," Mia sad. She had a horrified expression on her face as she stared at the shattered glass. "Aiden! How did you manage to do that again? Mr. O'Conner is probably going to sue me this time!"
"It was an accident," Aiden shuttered.
"I know sweetie, but I told you so many times not to play on the street. Mommy can't afford to keep replacing all these windows!" Mia ran a hand through her hair and began pacing back and forth. This was the third time Aiden had broke something of the O'Conner's and she was pretty sure John was all out of warnings and would soon follow through with his threats of legal action."
"Hey Mia," Brian reached out and touched her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I'm going to fix the window before my dad even realizes something happened. I already went and got the supplies."
She looked at the grass, where there was a hammer, new glass, and a few other items. "Brian, that's really nice of you but you shouldn't be taking this upon yourself. This is my responsibility."
Brian waved off her concern. "I remember a time when Tony saved my ass from the guy a few houses down after I drove into their mailbox. I'm pretty sure he'd appreciate me repaying the favour to his grandson."
Mia smiled appreciatively at the guy she once knew so well. "Thank you," she mouthed, her emotions getting the best of her.
"I told you he was awesome!" Aiden exclaimed, earning him a glare from Mia.
"You're still in big trouble mister. I want you to go to the garage and get me your baseball bat. You're grounded for a month," she finished, turning her attention back to Brian after she saw that Aiden had safely crossed the street and made his way to the house.
"I can't believe you're a mom," he said as he gave her an onceover. "It seems like just yesterday we use to play tag and have barbeques in your backyard."
Mia laughed. "Well we still have barbeques and Dom and Aiden still play tag, so I guess it's more or less the same."
"I'm sorry about earlier. I made things really awkward," Brian blurted out, unable to take the guilt any longer.
"You have nothing to be sorry about Brian. Everyone goes through things in life and I didn't expect you to know every single detail that happened when you were gone. It was actually refreshing that you didn't."
He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked her straight in the eyes. "Its clear you've been through hell and back Mia. I may not know the specifics, but I want you to know what I'm always rooting for you... and for Dom."
"I appreciate that," she said, the meaning of his words truly sinking in. "I'm rooting for you too Brian." She turned to walk away but the sound of his voice calling her name stopped her. "Yeah?"
"I'm probably going to be in town for a few more days and was thinking that maybe…maybe we could sit down and catch up or something?" His proposal seemed random but he found the words slipping out of his mouth before he could even comprehend what he was saying.
She walked a little more towards him and smiled sadly. "I would love to but most days my feet can barely catch up to my mind. There's too much going on."
He just nodded, seemingly accepting the rejection and turned to climb the ladder without noticing that she was glued to her spot.
"Hey Brian?" she called up, reconsidering her response. When he turned, she could see a slight smile begin to form. "How about you come over for dinner on Monday? I'll invite Leon and Letty too and we can all hang out like old times?"
"Sure," Brian agreed. "I'd love to."
The sound of a speeding engine soon caught their attention. Mia instantly recognized Dom's car but was surprised to see him sitting in the passenger seat.
"What's going on?" she wondered aloud as the vehicle came to stop right beside her. She peeked inside the window and saw Letty on the left side.
Letty laughed uncontrollably. "Guess who gets to drive this baby for the rest of the week?"
Dom looked between her and his sister and just sighed. The fact that he even agreed to the terms of the bet let him know that he was in way over his head.
What will happen at the dinner? Why is John O'Conner such a jerk? Where is Vince? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter. Thanks for readings and for those wonderful people who took the time to give me some feedback. It is much appreciated!