The group got together for a barbeque the next day. The guys were teasing Shea.

"Shut up Vince!" she said, her face flushing.

"It was just a fucking spider." he prodded.

"It was a massively HUGE spider Vince." she told him, her eyes wide. "It could have ripped my head off with all eight of it's fucking legs!"

"But you jumped the table Shea." Leon added with a snicker.

"It's true." Jesse said with a bit of awe. "I have never seen anyone move that fast to get away from something. I think you'd have beaten Dom in his car."

"Ha ha." she grimaced. "Haven't you ever read The Lord of the Rings? Shelob. That spider last night, could have taken Shelob to the fucking cleaners." At this Mia and Letty burst out laughing.

"Oh girl, you should have seen it when Dom said look at that spider." Letty snorted. "You moved across that table, over Vince, and across the room like you were flying."

"You know what kills me?" Mia choked out between chortles of laughter. "She's dating a guy named Spider."

"You guys are real frigging comedians." she wished he'd never seen the damn thing. Could she help it that her biggest fear, next to falling, was spiders. They were just….creepy.

"Now, now. Everyone give Shea a break, or she won't come visit us anymore. Or heaven forbid she won't stay past Friday."

Shea sat up smugly, as if to say Yeah take that! Then she sighed, "I don't know. I haven't decided yet. I know what other people are telling me I should do. Like Kell and Pete, but I don't know. If I rent a place I have to sign a lease, but then what if I change my mind later and want to leave. I'll have to keep thinking on it." She knew it wasn't the answer they wanted, but it was the best she could do.

"What are Kell and Pete telling you to do?" Jesse asked.

"They think I should settle in for a few months, work on my tan, and head back worry free."

Dom looked at her. Before she and Lil had arrived for the meal, he'd gotten the team together and they'd talked about it. They still had the money from the heists, so they weren't lacking in funds. They'd formulated a game plan, and surprisingly everyone had been in agreement with Dom. "Well, see, we were thinking."

"All of us, not just Dom." Leon added. The others nodded in agreement.

"We were thinking that if you rented a room in the house here then you wouldn't have to sign a lease." Before she could interject he continued. "We were also thinking that since you have experience in accounting, for a part time job you could work at the store and in the shop in the office. We hate the books." There were more nods to this. "That just leaves you worrying about transportation."

Shea looked at them. She'd only known these people for two weeks, were they for real? It sounded good. She would just have to worry about a car, setting up a new doctor, and getting Pete to send some of her stuff to her. Their plan certainly gave her the out she needed if she needed one. "Give me tonight to think about it. I'll give you an answer tomorrow." The group smiled at her. They couldn't imagine her telling them no. "First though you have to know. I'm not the easiest to live with. I suffer from severe depression. If I'm off my meds more than two days. I'm a nutball."

"Well, we'll be there to make sure you don't go off your meds." Mia smiled.

When Shea got back to the hotel room that night, she sat in the middle of the bed and looked around. Funny how a place could grow on you in so short a time. Los Angeles, not the hotel room. It was funny that when she'd come here as a kid she'd hated it. Now she was here, and it felt… nice. Sometimes it seemed too big, and too busy, but most of that probably came from the fact that she'd lived in a smaller city for six years. Her new friends had really thrown her for a loop tonight. Never had anybody gone out of their way to make her feel like she was so wanted.

Hell, she'd had to fight tooth and nail to get Rick to even date her. She should have never put so much effort into it. Thinking about it, why had he even given in? She'd been close to giving up when he had. Obviously he'd wanted to stay close to Amanda, she told herself bitterly. Why he couldn't have just said, Sorry Shea, I want to bone your sister. Stop thinking about it, she screamed inside.

That's it. She was going to stay. Shea was staying in Los Angeles, and she was going to enjoy every moment there come hell or high water. She finally went to sleep, and slept better than she had in six months.

The first thing she did in the morning was to call her brother and tell him she was staying. He seemed relieved, but told her he really missed her. Then she called Kell, who promised she'd be coming for a visit before the six months was up. Shea's next action was to run. She wanted to get the worst part of the day over with, and she'd pick up a paper on her way back to the hotel. Really though, if she was going to keep running, she should give up some of the ice cream. Sure some of her fat was turning to muscle, but the ice cream didn't help anything. She snorted in laughter, yeah right, she'd give up her ice cream when hell froze over. Then she'd go for warm steamy pecan pie and hot cocoa. Shea wasn't skinny, and she didn't give a damn.

Once she got back to her hotel room she made a few calls. Her doctor said she'd set up and appointment with a noted doctor in L.A., and she'd send her some samples of her pills to get her through. God she loved Dr. Walton. Looking through the paper she found a car that looked promising, so she caught a cab to the address.

It was a black 2000 Chevrolet Convertible Cavalier. It was their son's car and he'd headed off to college, and purchased a car there, so they wanted to get rid of it. They were only asking $4000 for it, so before she knew they were signing over the title and she was giving them the money. How about that, Rick had been good for something. She'd been the beneficiary on both of his insurance policies, so she'd kept the small one, hell she'd worked while he went to school, and she'd signed the larger one over to be put into trust for Amanda's child. Once the baby was born she'd sign the final documents and that would be that.

She drove her new car around the city for a while before finally pulling into the parking area at DT's. "Hey," she announced loudly, "Where can I go to get a decent oil change around here?"

Letty came scowling out of the back but smiled once she saw who it was. "Shea what the hell, you know you can get your oil changed here."

Letty took in the smile on Shea's face, and the fact she was leaning against the car. "OMIGOD! You bought a car! You're staying!" she practically screamed and jumped on Shea. Both women went flying into the back of the open convertible.

"What the hell?" Leon frowned slightly only seeing legs sticking out the car in front of him, and hearing Letty laughing hysterically.

Letty poked her head up, the other guys were already starting to saunter out. "Shea is staying!"

Everyone seemed pleased, and helped Shea get Letty off of her.

Dom nodded at Shea with a smile. "When you movin in?"

Shea looked at the large man in front of her. She knew he was close in age to her. So when had he become an older brother like Pete? Only not so much. Pete had grown up in South Dakota while Shea had grown up in Texas, so while he was her older brother, most of the time they seemed more buddies than the typical older brother little sister relationship. He had that mostly with Amanda. With Dom though, he seemed to have the role down pat. "Tomorrow? We need to discuss rent too."

Dom nodded again. "Yeah, and salary."

The first few days of living with the Toretto clan were different to say the least. It had been a long time since Shea had lived with others. Before it had only been Rick, and then they'd worked different shifts so they were hardly home at the same time. Pete sent her stuff that she'd asked for and she made herself at home in her new room. Jesse, Leon, and Vince all had rooms in the finished basement. Mia and Brian had a room on the second floor, along with Letty and Dom having the second room on that floor. The space they gave Shea was the large dormer area of the attic. It even had its own bathroom and tub. Shea was pleased with the privacy it allowed her.

The boys always seemed so rowdy. Wrestling around with each other, or playing video games. They seemed to be easier with Jesse, and Shea found out shortly after moving in that he'd had some serious gunshot wounds the year before. Obviously car accidents weren't the only dangers in the racing world. Vince had shown her his scars on the inside of his arm from the accident which he'd been in where he'd also been shot. Brian had saved his life. Letty had flipped her car the same day. Shea knew without asking they had been involved in some illegal activities. More than just the illegal street racing. She didn't ask about it, seeing as it wasn't any of her business.

It was a race night and as usual she had a date with Spider prior to the races. However, when Shea showed up it wasn't on the back of a motorcycle, but in the passenger seat of Lil's car. She knew she looked pissed off, hell she was beyond pissed off. Lil had hurried over to Jesse immediately, and was whispering to him. She had just approached her friends when Spider roared up on his bike. Letty could see the fury in her friend's eyes and was worried. Shea only gave her a half smile before heading over to the bike. They could tell she was arguing heatedly, so they moved closer in case she needed them.

"Ah come on Shea, everyone fucks up sometimes." Spider ground out in his deep smoke rasped voice.

"Fucks up? You call that fucking up? You didn't make a little mistake Spider." she practically screamed.

"What do you want me to do? I already apologized." he said and put his hands on her shoulders.

Shea stiffened. "I told you from the get go what I expected and what would happen. Fuck your apologies, and fuck you." She twisted away from and stepped back. "Just leave."

Spider looked at her quietly for a minute. "Fine." he said coldly. "But we ain't done talking about this Sugar, not by a long shot." He turned the bike and sped off.

Jesse had just finished whispering to Dom when Shea turned around to smile at the group watching the scene. She looked at the people who weren't her friends, "Enjoy the show? Nice little preview before the race." she said loudly with a lot of sarcasm. "Maybe next week I'll juggle."

Dom walked over to her. "Show me."

Shea looked at Lil with narrowed eyes, "Fuck Lil, why'd you have to open your mouth?"

Dom looked down at Shea and repeated himself slowly, "Show me." The rest of the group crowded around, not understanding what was happening, but wanting to close out the gawkers.

Shea sighed and turned her head, moving her hair to the side where a bruise was still forming at her hairline. Then she pulled down the neckline of her t shirt to show him the bruises forming on her collarbone, and shoulders.

"Oh, Shea." Mia whispered.

Leon and Vince looked at each other. "We're gonna fuckin kill him." Vince said plainly.

"Oh you are not!" Shea snapped. "It's done. Should have known by the name not to date him." she looked around annoyed, "Aren't you all supposed to be revving your engines, or picking up chasers by now?" she snapped again. "Not you Dom, or Brian." It seemed like forever before they finally went back to why they were, and they still kept throwing her glances that she supposed she wasn't meant to notice. Jesus the people were obvious. She'd seen five year olds that were more subtle.

Team Toretto won their races. Shea had become accustomed to that. She'd made friends with another racer Edwin, she found him incredibly funny. She'd also found the pleasant past time of sitting listening to the scanner with whoever was manning it, and daydreaming a bit while the races were actually occurring. Then they would party at the Toretto house, until Shea got tired and would go up to her room, shutting out everything before falling asleep to the muffled music.

The day of her doctor appointment with the new doctor came about two weeks into her stay with the Torettos. It was an early appointment so the gang wasn't expecting her until closer to mid day. By the time she got back though it was early afternoon.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. You will not believe the day I've had." She told Dom as she stormed into the office. She went directly to the water cooler. Filling up her Eeyore glass with water she drank deeply. "That fucking doctor won't refill my prescriptions until I've seen him two more times in the next month. Doesn't he realize I'll kill someone in that time frame? Cuz you know taking a mental case off of the pills that keep her sane, ALWAYS a good idea. Then to top matters off…"

Vince came into the office wiping grease off his hands, "Hey Shea, what happened to the back of your car."

Shea lifted her hand as if to say, See I told you there was more. "Some ass wipe ran into me. Totally his fault, but you realize that makes ten car accidents. One more and I'm up to one a year since I started driving." She drank more water, not realizing how parched she was.

Jesse looked up from the computer set up behind the desk Dominic sat at, a huge grin on his face. "Well, I have news that is totally going to turn your day around Shea."

She smiled, he was just a cute little guy. "Oh yeah, what's that Jess?"

"Your step mom Louise called to say your sister Amanda had a healthy baby boy this morning. Eight pounds six ounces. Richard Henderson Lane."

Shea felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. "Oh yeah Jess?" She couldn't breathe. She didn't notice Dom and Vince approaching her, and didn't notice her hand tightening on the glass.

"Holy fuck!" Dom exclaimed as the glass shattered, spilling glass on the floor and desk. Vince went to get the trash can, and Dom started sweeping the glass together. Shea had walked to the doorway. Leon bumped into her right outside the kitchen. He steadied her, holding her arms, her hands on his chest. She spoke softly and kept walking, her movements quickening.

"Dude what just happened here?" Leon asked, "And where is Shea going?"

"What the hell did she say to you? What's on your shirt?" Vince asked, he knew, but didn't want to say it.

"Dom, there's blood on these glass shards." Jesse said looking up worried. Dom remembered the conversation with Kell. Amanda was her sister. The girl who her fiancé had cheated on her with was her sister.

Vince turned and saw the blood on the door handle. He could just see Shea's back as she walked down the road. "Dom, Shea's fucking walkin outa here." He saw her stumbling as if she was sleepwalking. Vince took off after her, catching up quickly. He grabbed her shoulder, and spun her around. Tears were running down her face in steady streams, blood was smeared on her face where she had wiped some of the tears away. She just looked at him blankly. "What the fuck is going on?" he yelled, and winced as she dropped to the ground in fear.

Letty and Dom were almost to them, and Vince dropped to his knees on the ground next to her. "Talk to me Shea. Talk to us. Where ya goin?"

She started sobbing, and her whole body was shaking. Vince just pulled her into a hug. Letty got to them and put her arms around the girl as well. Dom just stroked her cap of shiny blonde hair. After several minutes her sobs started to subside. Vince picked her up as if she were a child. She wrapped her legs around his waist but there was nothing sexual about it; her face buried in his neck. He carried her back to the shop, with Letty and Dom following close behind. They bandaged up her hand which was sliced across the palm, and made her lay down on the couch in the office. She started to speak, but Dom told her to rest, they'd talk about it later. Leon stayed with her for a while talking about engines until she fell asleep.

Later that night after dinner Shea knew she needed to explain. Especially after they'd been so kind to her that day. They were all in the living room when she spoke up. "I want to explain." Everyone quieted at this. "Jesse told me my sister had her baby today. I guess that's what finished up an already trashed day. I guess I should be thrilled. A new baby." she grimaced. Shea looked at the group of people. She didn't know where to begin. Lil had a quizzical look on her face. "I know when I first came I told you all that my fiancé had been killed in a riot. And that's true. Well, what no one else but Kell knew was that he wasn't going to be my fiancé for very much longer." Shea sat down in a chair staring off into space as she looked for the words that would explain it. "See, my baby sister came to me when she was two months pregnant to tell me that she was pregnant with Rick's baby. That they loved each other, and he hadn't told me yet because he didn't know how to." Mia walked over to where Shea was sitting, and sat next to her, grabbing her hand. "Funniest part of it all was that Rick had told me he didn't want children. I'd always wanted them, but I knew it would be difficult for me to have kids, which is a whole other story, so I agreed. We'd get married, be Auntie and Uncle, but no kids of our own. Anyway, she told me while Rick was on one of his overnight shifts. When he got home the next day, I confronted him. He told me it was true, but that we didn't have to break up since he'd promised me he'd marry me. That he and Amanda would work it out." Shea's voice had taken on a bitter tone. "Because obviously the fat blonde with mental issues wouldn't be able to find another man. Two days later he died in the riot. I haven't talked to my sister since the night she told me. She tried to. Right after he died, and at the funeral, but I couldn't. I couldn't handle being second best to someone again and again. Especially not my little sister."

"He was an idiot." Leon said in disgust.

"No, she's way prettier than me, and petite" Shea half laughed, half sobbed. "Plus she doesn't have the whole depression thing going on. I can see why he picked her. I can see why anyone would."

"Idiot." Leon reiterated.

She left them after that to clean up the kitchen. Once everyone had gotten back to their video games, or discussions, Letty and Mia cornered her. "What's this about no kids for you?" Letty asked bluntly.

Shea shrugged, "My doctor told me a long time ago that it would take serious fertility drugs for me to able to conceive, and then only maybe. It just ain't gonna happen. No big. My Dad was pretty abusive when I was little, so I always sort of worried that I'd end up that way. Maybe me not being able to have kids is the way to protect against that, ya know?"

"You're gonna have kids girl." Letty told her. "You'd be a natural mother, like our little Mia here."

Shea found herself going through the motions for the next week. She felt herself slipping. Not having the anti depressants in her system. Someone would say something and she took it the wrong way. She swallowed it down, and kept it to torment herself with later. She thought she was doing a good job of hiding it. They didn't know what she was thinking, and they'd never really had someone with such a bad case of depression, so they didn't pick up on the signs. Shea started begging off in the evenings, going to bed early. She picked at her food, and began to spend a lot of time alone. She would see Letty and Mia whispering, and assumed it was about her, about how they didn't want her around.

She'd had her second appointment with the doctor, and had begged, but they still wanted to see her one more time. What had she been thinking? Staying in Los Angeles. No one really wanted her here. She'd gotten the birth announcement for Ricky, that's what they were calling him, in the mail. Shea had gone and picked out a receiving blanket, and some little outfits. She sobbed as she boxed it up and mailed it off.