Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and Furious series, though I wish I did.

Summary: Luke Hobbs was more than just God's wrath. He was more than just a master bounty hunter. He was also a father. Samantha is his world, though many don't know it. But the DSS takes him from home far more than he wishes, so he has no choice but to hire a nanny. Enter Amanda Wood. She's the perfect choice: charming, sweet, and Samantha takes to her almost immediately. Unfortunately, Hobbs does too. And she's not without a few secrets of her own. Oh, how the mighty fall in love.

A/N: I got excited and decided to go ahead and post this for you guys. For future reference, all updates will be on Tuesdays (so you can expect a new chapter starting this today. Consider this one a gift!). I've also got a running outline for the next four chapters which means no unexpected hiatuses in the near future! Thank you so much for the reviews I've gotten so far! You guys are amazing!

Chapter Four

"Hobbs, I swear that if you try to spoon feed me, I will shoot you." The man in question chuckled before setting the bowl of soup on the table in front of a slightly agitated Amanda, "Thank you."

She had been out of the hospital for little over a day and from the moment she stepped outside, Hobbs had made it his personal mission to coddle the crap out of her. At least, that's how she would describe it. In truth, he was doing everything he could to make her recovery as easy as possible. She appreciated it, but he was still being extremely annoying.

Samantha had also been helping but her interactions with Amanda had become limited because of her nanny's injuries. Amanda felt sympathy for the little girl who visibly missed her. She also lamented that she had no one else that could help through this process. She and Hobbs had talked about it briefly, the night before she was released from the hospital.

"No family, at all?"

"No one, Hobbs, and I'd rather not talk about it."

He'd dropped the subject then but she felt like it would be brought again, at a time where she might be more willing to share.

"Doctor says you're going to be in that cast for at least four weeks," His voice dropped lower so that only she could hear, "I've contacted the DSS, I'll be working from home during that time."

"You don't have to change your schedule on account of me. I can call Ben or something."

"Don't worry about it, it works out anyway. I want to hunt down those sons of bitches that had the nerve to attack innocent people in a library."

That had the nerve to attack his daughter, Amanda knew he wanted to say.

He frowned slightly, "Why don't you invite Ben over for lunch?"

"What?" Well, that was unexpected.

Hobbs shrugged, "You plan to have him around my daughter? I want to meet him. Eat your soup."

Well, she mused, can't argue with that.

Once Samantha had been put to bed, she grabbed her phone and shot Ben a text inviting him to have lunch with her, Samantha, and Hobbs. He responded quickly and by the time she reached the couch, lunch had been planned for the next day.

As she absentmindedly flipped through the channels, Hobbs sat across from her in his recliner with a book in his hand. She was genuinely amused at just how much of a dad he was behind the God's Wrath facade. There truly was more to him than what met the eye.

"Did you take your meds?" She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she got even more comfortable.

"Hobbs, I'm fine. You are such a mother hen." He snorted and it was the single most unattractive thing she had ever heard, causing her to cackle. Soon they were both laughing before falling into companionable silence, not wanting to wake Samantha. Weariness settled into her bones as she felt her eyes grow heavy before sleep eventually claimed her.

The guy was clearly trying too hard, Luke decided as he eyed Ben Wallace. No one wore a button up and slacks to IHOP, at least no one under the age of 60. Wardrobe choices aside, the guy was genuinely likable. Luke guessed he should consider himself lucky, it would save him an argument with Amanda. He didn't want some skeezy guy hanging around his little girl.

The nanny had good taste.

Speaking of, he glanced over at Samantha who seemed to be absolutely enamored with the other man. She was batting her eyes and leaning in to hear everything he had to say. It was slightly adorable but also unnerving to watch. She's seven, she should think that boys still have cooties.

Yet, here she was, falling in love with a man right before his eyes.

Amanda seemed to be the opposite, there was admiration in her eyes as she spoke to and laughed with Ben. Yet, it seemed shallow. It would change though, their relationship was still young, still new.

"So what do you do, Mr. Hobbs?" Ben asked him and Luke found himself fighting the grimace that made itself evident whenever someone addressed him as 'mister.'

"I'm in law enforcement, you?"

"Foreign relations, a mix of business and diplomacy. I just travel and sell stuff, really. It sounds more glamorous than it actually is."

Hmm. Interesting.

Samantha, apparently feeling like the attention needed to be on her once again, leaned in between the two men and began to fire off question after question about Ben's travels.

Her timing couldn't have been more perfect as Luke's phone began to ring. Excusing himself, he stepped away from the table and headed outside.

For whatever reason,he was in desperate need of fresh air.

Amanda watched Hobbs go, a mixture of concern and relief filling her. He had surprisingly been good about not grilling Ben, but she couldn't feeling like the other foot was about to drop. Samantha was absolutely taken with him, so she hoped that that would be enough.

She and Hobbs had finally reached some semblance of peace with each other when it came to young girl, she didn't want it ruined over something like this.

"Law enforcement, huh? The way he's built, I would have guessed personal trainer or professional bodybuilder." Ben joked as he seemed to be breathing his own sigh of relief. Samantha had gone to visit a table that had some of her school friends and their parents seated at it.

She grinned, "I always tell him that being a cop is just a front for his professional wrestling career."

They laughed together and Ben reached over to grab her hand, "I'm glad you did this. I have to admit I felt sort of left out for a while there. Samantha is wonderful."

"Oh be sure to tell her that when she gets back over here, she'll swoon." Not truly thinking about it, she leaned over and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

She felt truly lucky.

They caught sight of Hobbs walking over to the table. Judging by the apologetic expression he was sporting, he had to go and she would need Ben to take her and Samantha back to the Hobbs residence. Samantha was not fond of this as she had grown accustomed to her father being more available. It took the combined efforts of the three adults to keep her from throwing a tantrum in the restaurant. She was eventually won over by Ben's offer to ride shotgun in his Audi TT.

As they moved to go their separate ways, Hobbs was sure to take his daughter in his arms. It was something Amanda noticed he was doing more often. The attack had rattled him more than he let on, that was clear.

She found herself wishing that there was something she could do to take that fear away, but she knew there wasn't.

Perhaps the only remedy for this would be time.

"So what do we do if Roy or Sanders talks?"

"Don't worry about that, they're not going to talk. They're not stupid. They know the cost of betrayal."

"They got caught, apparently intelligence is something they're clearly lacking."

"No one was expecting that woman, speaking of which, where's Wallace?"

"He's with the big fish, something about a meeting, said he wouldn't be back until evening."

"Hmm, good. You'd do well to follow his example, Lee. He's learning Hobbs' weaknesses as we speak."

"And bringing us one step closer to our ultimate goal?"

"Exactly. The attack on the library was only the beginning. We've brought him home, Wallace is going to help us keep him here. And when the time is right, we'll go in for the kill."

"Sounds like the perfect plan, boss."

"it is, Lee. It is."

Samantha had been more reluctant to go to bed than usual, Amanda noted. She had felt remorse at sending the girl to her room, knowing that her charge wanted to see her father. The attack had rattled all of them and she come close to just giving in. But routine was routine, and Hobbs had already sent her a text telling her that he would be sure to wake Samantha up personally the next morning.

She figured she would let that be a surprise as she finally settled on the couch. Her eyelids were heavy but she didn't want to fall asleep. Sleeping on the couch had resulted in a pain in her neck that was bothersome and hard to get rid of.

It seemed her body had other plans, though, because as soon as she settled in to rest her eyes closed. She could feel consciousness slipping away from her, no matter how desperate she was to hold on to it. Sleep was not accepting defeat tonight.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you?" It was so softly whispered, she almost didn't catch it. She hadn't even heard the door open, surely she hadn't been asleep for that long.

Before she could form a tired response, she felt herself being lifted up before coming to rest against something solid and sturdy. Her eyes fluttered open and caught a glimpse of Hobbs' strong jawline. Strength, she thought, I need that right now. Sleep settled back into her bones as she buried her head in the crook of his neck. Surely, this was only a dream.

All to quickly, she felt herself being laid down on the softest surface. Her bed, she realized, as her eyes met his. It was a little harder to breathe, all of a sudden.

Thank you.

Get some rest.

You too.

The smell of bacon roused her to consciousness as the light of the morning sun peeked through the window. Amanda smiled as she heard the hushed voices of Hobbs and Samantha outside of her door before the it finally opened.

"We brought you breakfast, Mandy." Her smile could only grow wider at the sound of Samanha's timid voice.

"Well aren't you the sweetest and you're psychic too? How else would you know the way to my heart is bacon?"

"Well, you do order bacon on everything."

Amanda barked out a laugh at that and even Hobbs made his highly unattractive snorting sound. Samantha paid them no mind as she continued to chatter. Before they knew it, she had managed to get father and nanny to agree to take her to the zoo and to get sno-cones.

"This is going to be the best day ever!"

The girl's enthusiasm was so infectious, Amanda couldn't help but agree.

By the time late afternoon arrived, Luke had confirmed two things. The first was that it should be illegal for it to be this hot on any given day. The second was that having a nanny had made him too comfortable. He was ill-equipped for all the walking, pretend gawking, and occasional soothsaying that went with caring for his daughter. He needed more breaks like this from the DSS. He was at risk of missing out on so much.

"Hey, don't look like that," Amanda nudged him, "You're doing great, Hobbs. You're the first parent I've worked for that actually wants to spend time with their kid."

"It's probably because I don't want to be away from her at all, but that doesn't pay the bills." He watched as Samantha oohed and aahed, interacting with other visitors as she did so. She truly was a ray of sunlight. She kept him honest. She kept him sane. "I could take a desk job, I'd be home more."

"And you would be unhappy," She rolled her eyes at his surprised look, "You love your daughter, but you also love what you do. There's nothing wrong with that, Hobbs. You're her hero, no matter how much you're gone. Let that be enough."

The sound of the crowd getting louder cut off his response. On high alert, he sought Samantha and found her standing on the edge of the crowd watching. Her eyes were wide and round as saucers. Moving toward her, he heard Amanda laugh in glee at what had enraptured his daughter.

It was a proposal.

Lifting her up so that she could get a better view, Luke watched the scene unfold before him. A nervous guy knelt before a girl who was equal parts surprised and nervous. He was too far away for them to hear his exact words but the smile on his face spoke volumes. Every ounce of love he had for this girl was shining through.

And her love shone back as she nodded her head yes and the crowd erupted in cheers as the two embraced.

"Well damn, I wasn't trying to cry today but it seems life had other plans." Amanda said quietly beside him, careful to not let Samantha hear her swear.

The little girl in question was slowly coming out of her awed stupor and both Luke and Amanda braced themselves. Within seconds, she was firing off question after question.

To her credit, Amanda took every question with ease, casting a look toward Luke that said 'I got your back.' But he couldn't avoid her forever as his daughter leaned down slightly so he knew she was addressing him.

"Daddy, do you think you'll ever get married again?"

You're doing great, Hobbs.

You love what you do. There's nothing wrong with that.

You're her hero, let that be enough.

"Maybe someday, kiddo. Maybe someday."

End Chapter Four.