Regan was considering taking another crack at the washing machine the next morning when her doorbell rang. There was something wrong with the wiring and the sound the bell made was hideous. Someone had pressed it for the second time by the time she got to the door. She opened the door quickly and slammed her free hand over the button to stop it from being repeated. She gave Mia, Brian, and Dom a harried smile. "Hi. Let's not press that again. There's obviously something messed up with it."

"You aren't going to try to fix that yourself are you?" Dom frowned. She looked like she meant business. Her hair was pulled back in a red bandana, she wore a short red and white checked tank top that molded her athletic body, and short denim cutoffs. He noticed her toe nails were painted lime green.

"Are you kidding? I'd electrocute myself!" she snorted. That's when she noticed the tool box Brian was carrying. "What're you kids doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you all again or anything."

Mia was smiling brightly. She held a package wrapped in aluminum foil. "I brought you brownies. And the guys thought they'd take a look at your washing machine for you, if you wanted."

Regan gave a speculative look to the wrench she still held, and then gave them a relieved smile. "That would be awesome." She ushered them into the house and they stepped inside, looking around curiously. "I haven't really done much to the place yet." She told them as she led them towards the kitchen and the little room that held the washer and dryer.

The only furniture in the small living room of the house was a plush red sofa, a small stereo, and a small glass top coffee table. Two doors off the living room were shut and Dom figured they must be the bedrooms and/or closets. One door was open and led to a bathroom, but the room was dark. The small kitchen had a two person table and two chairs in the small breakfast nook. All of the water and soap from the previous day had been cleaned. The only thing which looked out of place was a blackened muffin pan filled with charred remains sitting in the sink.

Dom quirked one eyebrow at her and Regan flushed. "Um, I was trying to make muffins."

"What kind?" he asked curiously.

"Blueberry." She murmured. "I'm not really much of a cook. I might take a class or something."

"Oh, don't take a class! I could teach you!" Mia jumped. "I love to cook and so far no one's complained."

"Oh, that's real sweet Mia, but I'd hate to take your free time up like that." Regan protested.

"It would be so much fun!" the other girl enthused. "Our Mom taught both me and Dom to cook. As for time, I'm out of school for the semester, and it wouldn't take that long." Dom and Brian moved past the two women and into the laundry room. A moment later Dom came back out and took the wrench from Regan.

"Well, if you're sure you wouldn't mind teaching me…"

"This'll be so much fun."

Regan was frowning slightly. "Well, I don't know about that. I can't even boil water."

Mia blinked. "Of course you can." She looked at the redhead in front of her. Annie was a beautiful girl. Well, maybe beautiful was the wrong word. She was striking; beautiful pale, creamy skin with just a smattering of freckles across her face. Her eyes were a dark navy blue, and her hair was just a touch darker than strawberry blonde. Judging from Annie's eyebrows and coloring, it was her natural hair color. Annie had a pretty face with a perky, button nose, and a Cupid 's bow mouth; her upper lip was just a shade fuller than would be perfect giving her a very slight overbite. Annie obviously worked out or exercised regularly because her body was toned, but she looked like she'd been losing weight recently, and not in a good way.

Mia was intrigued by the other woman. She seemed to be an enigma, or a puzzle. Everyone had liked her the night before, and Lily seemed smitten with the woman too. There was also something familiar about Annie. Almost like Mia must have seen her before. But hadn't Annie said she'd come from back East? Mia shrugged to herself. Must just look like someone.

Regan was busy getting out small plates to put the brownies on. Occasionally, an expletive could be heard from one of the men. "Do you guys want a brownie?" she called out then turned to Mia. "Would you like some milk, or some soda?"

"Why don't I get drinks while you get the brownies out?" Mia offered. At Annie's nod she headed to the cupboards. Upon opening the refrigerator she was stunned to see the beverages. Not only was there two types of milk; skim and 2, but there was sparkling water, bottled water, some expensive brand of bottled water, several energy drinks, Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, and an almost full bottle of Grey Goose vodka. There weren't a lot of food items that Mia could see. Slowly she removed the 2 milk and some of the water. "Is this okay?" she asked hesitantly.

Regan looked over and nodded. "Sure. You guys can have whatever you want." Not getting a response from the men she sighed and stuck her head in the small utility room to see if the men wanted a brownie, or something to drink. "Did you…" Her mouth went dry and she lost her train of thought entirely.

Brian was leaning into the basin of the washer, but Dom was lying on his back. Water had obviously leaked out of the machine because his white wife beater was wet. He had the wrench in one hand and his arm muscles were bulging as he tightened something. He had worn faded blue jeans that day and they emphasized his thigh muscles. For a moment Regan thought she was going to faint as a flash of heat enveloped her. She blinked and tried to remember what she was saying before she'd seen him. "Did you guys want a brownie or a drink?" she managed to croak out.

She barely heard Brian's affirmative. Dom had looked up at her and when his eyes met hers she couldn't look away. Regan could hear a drum; no it was her heartbeat, beating ferociously in her chest. Regan couldn't remember ever being held captive by a gaze before. Never had she felt such raw desire. But that was what she felt for this man. She wanted him, and she wanted him bad.

Regan had never been one led by her hormones or desires. Keisha had called her a frigid bitch; she wasn't frigid, but she didn't just put out like other girls. In fact she'd never had sex. She'd never really met anyone who inspired those urges within her. Now she felt things in her body tightening and a flush crept up and over her flesh.

Mia spoke right next to her ear and it snapped her out of the stare. "These are really cute plates."

"Thanks." Regan moved out of the doorway and back into the small kitchen. "I got them at a flea market in Arizona." She moved quickly to pick up a brownie and shove a bite into her mouth. "This is really good." She told Mia after chewing thoroughly. She felt like an idiot.

The men headed into the room, and without thinking Regan handed them both hand towels to dry off with. Impeccable manners had been ingrained in her from birth. The group moved to the living room with their refreshments. "So, have you lived here all of your lives?" she asked after a brief silence.

"Dom and I grew up in the house next door." Mia smiled. "It's Dom's now. Brian and I got married two years ago, and now we live in the green house on the corner."

"Oh, that's so nice. That you live so close like that."

"We've tried to keep it that way. We're all family." Mia explained. "Before Valeria it was Team Toretto." Mia said softly. "Dom, Me, Letty, Leon, Vince, and Jesse. And Brian, he was one of ours too." Regan listened intently to her voice and could hear the traces of pain. "Then Val came and we gained Cass, Sonja, and Trev." Dom and Brian got up and headed back to the laundry room silently. "Sonja and Lee got married, Trev and Letty got married, and for awhile Cass and V were a couple." Mia shrugged.

"I don't think Jesse was there the other night. Unless he was the man with Cass, but I thought his name was Cam."

"Yeah, Cass's husband is Cam. No, Jesse died before. He was shot and killed by some very bad men."

"Oh, Mia, I'm so sorry. There's been such tragedy in your lives." Regan just shook her head in horror. "I don't even know what to say. I've never known anyone who's been a victim of violence. I mean, I guess I know people who've been mugged and stuff, but not shot."

"It was real hard on all of us, losing Jesse. There was a long period of upheaval for us. Maybe someday I'll tell you the whole story." Mia smiled faintly.

Regan looked at the other girl. She'd like to hear that story someday she thought to herself. "I'd like that Mia."

"It's fixed." Dom said from the doorway. "For now. You're gonna have to get a new one, or at least a newer one than that one, soon."

Regan gave Dom and Brian a huge smile. "My heroes."
&

Regan pushed herself up and out of the office chair stretching her back as she went. She'd just finished sending off the last email to her brother, and now she was going to grab some lunch. It was just past noon and the neighborhood was quiet. Looking around the small room she'd set up as an office she smiled. She loved the little house she was renting. The office had just been big enough for her elliptical machine, computer desk, and bookshelf.

Regan headed for the kitchen and grabbed an apple. Should probably eat something more, she thought to herself briefly and then pushed it away. At least she was eating more now than she had been. She wasn't nearly as exhausted these days either. It had been four days since her new neighbors visit. The washing machine was working, almost like a dream. Regan had kept a low profile for the past few days. The reactions she was having whenever she was in Dom Toretto's vicinity were confusing and unnerving. She hadn't done this, left home like this, to meet boys…men…whatever. No, as sexy as the man was, and as adorable as his daughter was, it was just best to keep her distance.

His daughter was a whole other issue. Regan didn't have a problem with kids, but what if she got attached to Lily and vice versa only to be leaving in a few months. What about the fact that Dom had been seriously in love with someone before? Regan had no experience with love. The relationships she'd been in had been easy flirtations. The most serious had been Zack, and look at how that ended. Not that she'd ever really considered a long term commitment with Zack. Good grief, why was she even thinking about this now? She'd only spoken to the man three times.

"Knock knock!" came the shout from the back door.

Regan grinned and headed to meet Mia. "Hey!"

"You sure you don't mind me coming in like this?"

"I don't mind at all!" In fact Regan had loved the idea of it; having people you know and trust that could just walk in and be welcome. "Oh, what did you bring with you?"

Mia smiled and set her two grocery bags on the counter. "We're going to start easy today. We're making spaghetti and meatballs."

Regan continued to dig through the bags. "Um, Mia, honey, there aren't any bottles of spaghetti sauce in here…"

Mia giggled. "Annie, we're making homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We aren't using Ragu or Prego, or any of those."

Regan backed away from the groceries and folded her arms across her chest. "Are we sure that is the wisest course of action? Perhaps we should start with something really simple like….carrot sticks?"

Mia looked over and saw the doubt on the other woman's face. She walked over and slung an arm around Annie's shoulders. The redhead felt almost fragile to her and that made Mia frown a bit. The girl needed to put some meat on her bones. "You can do this Annie. I know you can. Together we're gonna get you cooking up a storm."

Regan took a deep breath and pushed the fear of failure away. This is a new adventure she told herself, embrace it! She gave Mia a big smile. "Let's do it."

Hours later the kitchen looked like a cyclone had raced through it. Drops of red sauce marred every counter and cabinet in sight, and Regan was almost positive they'd ended up using every pot and pan she owned. The first batch had been a disaster, but the second batch looked, and smelled good. Regan was pooped. She'd never have guessed that cooking was so much work. "You're amazing." She told Mia. The brunette was still standing at the stove stirring.

Mia looked over at Annie and chuckled. "You should see yourself."

"I can't believe I cooked that." Regan mused. "I COOKED." At Mia's look she elaborated. "You don't understand Mia. No one, not one single person I know from back home would or could ever imagine me cooking or cleaning."

Mia listened. This was really the first time Annie had spoken of 'back home'.

"Know what else Mia? Not one of them would understand why I'm here, or why I'm loving it all." Regan got quiet for a moment then she snapped back to attention. "Who's going to eat all of this?"

"Everyone, of course. They should be here soon."

"Shit! I'd better go shower then!" Regan laughed.

They carried the huge pots out to the picnic tables and Mia's family began to show up in small groups. Lily made a beeline for Annie, and this didn't go unnoticed by Dom. It also didn't go unnoticed when Annie scooped the baby up and proceeded to blow raspberries on her sweet little tummy.

The group was in the middle of eating the dessert that Cass had brought when Annie's cell phone rang. They waved her on to answer so she did so quickly. "Hello?"

"Regan?"

"Cara?" Regan frowned. She'd just talked to her cousin the day before. It was unnatural that she'd call now. "What's happening?"

"I went out with Richard Canton tonight."

"Oh really?" Regan grinned now and leaned back in her chair. Everyone else seemed caught up in their own conversations. "How long did the date last? When I went out with him we lasted about thirty eight minutes. Then I had my epiphany."

"Oh, we were probably out for about two hours." Cara's voice sounded wispy.

Regan stopped smiling and sat up in the chair. "Cara? You okay?"

"He wouldn't bring me home." Now Regan could hear the tears in her cousin's voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

"I told him I wanted to go home. He got really drunk and he wouldn't bring me home. I tried to leave and he grabbed my arm and pushed me in the car." Cara was sniffling now. "Then he got into an accident."

"Are you okay? Do you need me to come home?"

"No, but it means a lot that you would offer…no, I was hoping you'd let me come stay with you for a while." Cara asked. "If it wouldn't be too much of an imposition."

"Of course you're not an imposition!" Regan reached down and scooped Lily up. The little girl had toddled up and grabbed at Regan's shorts in a bid for attention. "Just understand this isn't like home at all… be prepared. When can I expect you?" She hung up the phone shortly after that to find everyone's attention focused on her. "My cousin's coming for a visit."