Letty went straight to Mia's room, giving Dom back his own. She curled up under the light pink sheets and sighed. What a day. She didn't know what would happen now, she knew that after what happened tonight things couldn't be the same again. What would happen? Would she get sent to her grandmothers, seperated from the only people who really mattered to her? The thought made her shiver, and she realized that it wasn't just her thoughts. It'd gotten cooler and a breeze passed through Mia's partially opened window. Pulling up her friends comforter, she settled back again, thinking. She couldn't bear to leave the Toretto's, or even Vince, big lug that he was. She knew that if Carlos did get charged with something or even get jail time, she wouldn't be allowed to stay in her own house, the house that'd been her home for nearly eleven years. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving.

With these thoughts buzzing around her brain, it was impossible to get to sleep. Getting out of bed, the latino left the pink room and headed down the stairs, quietly so an not to wake her 'hero'. Thank god for the fact that she knew the house by heart, because she couldn't turn on any lights until she reached the living room. But the full moon was bright, and she left the lights off. As she went to sit on the couch she jumped, startled by the set of eyes on her. Dom sat in the same recliner he'd been in when she'd went upstairs, but she could have swore he'd followed her up. Yet here he sat, wide awake, one hand occupied with a beer and the other laying on the arm, the knuckles red and slightly swollen. She saw a dark bruise forming on his jaw and instantly felt responsible for it.

"Dom, what are you doing up still?" Letty asked, dropping down onto the couch.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I couldn't sleep. Insomnia, I guess." she joked.

"Please Letty. You're not an insomniac you sleep like a fucking rock." the italian stated, poking fun at her.

"Oh ha ha yeah make fun of me okay. Real mature Dominic. Wait til I tell your dad that you we're picking on an injured girl." It had meant to be a joke, but his face got stoney again. Wow, he was taking this worse then she was. Then again, this was all pretty new to him. "Look Dom, I was kidding."

"I know." he said, but the mood stayed low.

After a moment, she asked, "Dom, what's gonna happen now?"

It had been on her mind all night, but she hadn't had the courage to ask. She didn't want him to see that she was worried. She didn't want him to think she was scared. She was too tough for that. Leticia Damita Rodriguez didn't get scared.

But she was, she was. Deep down in her soul, she had always been scared. The knawing fear that had lingered hidden there for years now began its slow rise up into her body, and tendrils of it worked into every corner of her being. It pushed at her mind, trying to be let out, but she tried to push it away. She wouldn't acknowledge that fear because that would make it real. And if it was real, she wouldn't be able to be strong anymore, because she would fall apart.

Dominic knew. He had seen it, right behind her eyes. She couldn't hide it from him, not anymore. "Letty." he soothed, his voice quiet. He saw right through her and knew that the hold she had on her tough facade was precariously close to being lost. When she looked into his eyes, the mask fell to pieces and she broke down. What escaped her wasn't the slow, gradual tears of someone who knew what had been coming, but a tearing, painful sob. The kind of real fear and pain, the stuff of children who've lost parents, and lovers forever seperated.

Yet, Dom didn't move. He saw one of the people he cared for most in the world in so much pain, but he stayed where he was. He watched her cry, watched the sobs wrack her body and saw her cover her face. But he didn't move, because he knew Letty as well as he knew himself, and he knew that even in her most vulnerable time, you had to let her come to you. When an animal is hurt, if you approach it, it attacks. But if you just wait, show that you're not going to endanger it, and have patience, it will come to you. The young latino was the same way. So he stayed where he was, and he waited. It hurt him to see his tough little Letty fall to pieces in front of him and not be able to do anything, but he waited.

Letty could feel all the pain she'd hidden for years clawing its way out of her. All the suffering, the hurt, the embarrasment and the fear. It escaped and she sobbed harder at the fact that now the one person she cared about most would see her at her weakest and things would never be the same. But she just couldn't stop the flow of emotions, she felt like there was a tornado inside of her and it was out of her control. When she dared to look over at her friend, she saw him watching her. But he didn't look angry, or disappointed, or disgusted. His eyes were dark, but they didn't hold anything she'd feared. And she knew. He was there for her, even now, when she lost control. And that feeling of knowing that she wasn't alone, had never been completely alone, entered her heart and clung there.

When she forced her feelings back down as best she could, she calmed some. Rising, the raven haired teen approached Dom, standing in front of the chair. He slowly set his beer down and straightened back up, letting her do whatever she wanted. Letty caught his eyes and just stared at him for a minute, lost in them. Then, breaking eye contact, she stepped closer, between his legs, bending over to touch her forehead to his, and sighed. She said his name, but he knew she didn't want a response. She stood back up and sat down, curling up in his lap, head on his shoulder. Now that she had made the first move, Dom knew he was safe to comfort her. Wrapping his left arm around her back, he took her hand in his right. The last time they'd sat like this was when her father had died. After that, she got hard. She put up a brick wall and had rarely let anyone, even him, see her real emotions.

In his arms, Letty felt safe. He always made her feel safe. And with that thought, the tears came back, full force. She sobbed into his shirt and he held her, careful of her shoulder. He didn't try to quiet her, but he did tell her that everything would be alright. He let her cry herself out, and then she just sat there, her breathing heavy. Finally, he answered her question, "I don't know what's gonna happen, Let."

"I don't want to leave." Letty declared softly. "Am I going to have to go to my grandmothers?" He heard her sniffle and he tightened his hold on her.

"No, Letty. You're not going anywhere." Dom's heart ached for the poor girl.

"I don't want to leave you." she stated, and then quickly added, "All of you."

Pulling her back to look into her eyes, the older boy stated, "Letty, you're not going anywhere. I promise Let, you're not going anywhere."

Studying him for a moment, she laid back onto his chest, and barely heard him add, "I've got you, tigrotta mia. I won't let them take you."

When Dominic next looked at the clock, it was well after three in the morning. Standing up with Letty in his arms, he ascended the stairs, pushing open the door to his little sisters room. Setting the girl down gently on the bed, he almost laughed as he noted how out of place the young mechanic looked. In her dark beater and old jeans, Letty looked anything but like the princess his father had fashioned Mia's room for. As he stood back up and headed for the door, her heard her moan. Turning, he watched her for a moment, assuring himself she was fine. Turning to leave once more, he heard her mumble, "Quedate Conmigo."

Walking back to the bed, he looked down at her, and in her semi-consious state, she added,"No me dejos. Quedate."

The eighteen year old sat on the bed and sighed. What was gonna happen? He wished he had the answers for her, and for him. He wouldn't let anyone take her away, it would kill his sister. Hell, it would kill all of them. Whether they liked it or not, the tough little girl with a wrench in hand had won them all over a long time ago, and became one of their own. She kept the peace between brother and sister the rare times when they didn't get along on their own, and she stood up for Mia when she'd had problems at school. When Dominic thought he knew everything his father could teach him and became more interested in friends and girls then family, she became Tony's little prodigy, his enthusiastic student. When Dom's mother had passed away, she was there for them all, helping around the house and cooking for them, despite being slightly domestically challenged. It'd been thanks to her tutoring that Vince had passed Spanish for all those years. Hard ass little Letty had even been the one to befriend Leon, and she understood the way Jesse's mind worked. He couldn't let anyone take her from them.

He looked at her and she mumbled again, repeating her demands. Dominic relented, but picked her up and brought her with him. No way in hell was he sleeping in a pink bed.