Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and the Furious or its characters. No copyright infringement intended. This fictitious work is for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update, that busy ole thing life randomly happens. And since it took so long I've merged chapter nine with eight, so it's terribly long. Hope you like it nonetheless and thanks to all the people who have stuck around to read and especially review. A very special thank you goes out to them. I should also mention in chapters to come expect time jumps. Nothing dramatic but little jumps to get things moving a long to more mature stages for the characters.


He promised he would come in January and he did – the very first day of the month – which made his visit that much more special to Letty. It had been far too long for her liking since she'd seen her father, so she squeezed him a little tighter to make sure it wasn't a dream. The presence of her father seemed to dissolve away all her troubles and any existence of relationships with or involving Dom. Everything from his mixed signals to his recent make out sessions with Suki were a thing of the past now. The New Year was beginning to start off perfect after all.

When their embrace finally broke Letty's father backed away a few inches so he could get a good look at his daughter. She'd gotten significantly taller, her features slightly maturing, and her hair had grown rather lengthy since he had last seen her. He flashed her a loving smile before finally speaking.

He gently caressed her cheek. "Mija, I've missed you so much……and look at you……you're growing up so fast."

She offered her father a warm smile, "I missed you too."

After their long greeting they took their little powwow inside. Letty gave her father the grand tour of her house and her room. She informed him about her close relationship with the Torettos' and Vince, and all the new things she learned about cars – everything from repairs to new trinkets. It put a huge smile on her father's face to know that his little girl was handing the separation so well. When Letty mentioned Anthony, the way she talked about him and that he taught her the latest new methods in repairs and cars in general, he felt an anguish of jealousy. She had mentioned him before and how he let her hang around his garage, but the fascination in which she spoke of Anthony pricked his heart. Cars, fixing them, and learning about them was their special father daughter occasion. He couldn't really blame her though, his daughter possessed an obsession of cars that was quite massive, and if it helped dealing with being so far away from each other, or kept her happy, then in the end it was alright with him.

"So how long are you staying?" Letty asked eagerly.

"Exactly one week," he answered.

Letty smiled excitedly, "I wish it was longer, but I'll take it………so what do you want to do?"

"Well first I have to check into a motel and rent a car if we want to get around," he told her.

"A motel? Why stay at a motel? You can stay here………mom already said it was fine," she assured him.

Her father arched one eye brow, "Really? She said – your mother – that I could stay here?"

Letty giggled. "I know, I was surprised too, but she really did say it was fine if you stayed here."

He flashed Letty a crooked smile. "Mija, I dunno if it's a good idea that I stay here……me and your mom we don't –"

"Dad……please, I haven't seen you in forever, and it would really suck if you stayed away from me in the same city…… so please stay here," she pleaded.

He smile and moved a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Alright," he said softly. "So how about you tell me more about your friends over some lunch?"

"Sounds good pop…… just let me get dressed," she said quickly before scurrying off into her closet.

As Letty ran off to get dressed for their outing, her dad occupied himself by lightly treading around the house. He started with her room. As expected she continued to have a vast collection of car magazines, along with toy models, in which she built all by herself. He took a moment to look at all the pictures she had taped to her wall and some that were special enough to make it to a few picture frames. In each one she looked completely blissful, without a care in the world, and it only made him happy to see his daughter that way. After studying the faces of Dom, Vince, Mia, and Anthony, he could tell his daughter's quaint group of friends looked like a good bunch. He was particularly glad that she finally became such great friends with a girl. Since she was a small toddler she never quite meshed well with girls her age.

After a few light chuckles from some of the pictures, Letty's father returned the picture frames to their exact spots. He dropped his duffle bag next to his daughter's bed before making his way to the hall and down the stairs. He couldn't help himself from smiling at how his ex-wife still decorated houses the same way. Everything from the religious crosses and pictures of the Virgin Mary, all the way down to the doilies that peppered the couches and coffee tables brought back memories of his life with her and Letty in Mexico. He heaved a deep breath and let it out slow and tried to remember that everything happens for a reason. As he made his way into the kitchen he came across more photos on the refrigerator, most of them were of Letty and her friends, but there was one in particular that caught his eye. It was one of Anna and who he assumed was her new boyfriend. There was something about the picture that made his heart absolutely twinge. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was something, maybe the unfamiliar gleeful smile she wore on her face, or the way she was extremely affectionate with the man in the picture.

Before he could examine the picture further he heard the front door unlock and swing open. He left the refrigerator and casually leaned against the door frame of the kitchen as he watched Anna and her boyfriend waltz around like teenagers in love. He cleared his throat loud enough to get their attention.

Anna flinched at the sound and turned to face who made the sound. "Juan," she croaked out.

Juan smiled at the flustered and surprised expression his ex-wife wore on her face. It was clear that after everything they'd been through she was still immensely attracted to him, especially in his uniform. She always loved when he was clean cut, shaven, with a flat top. The muscle he acquired from military training didn't hurt either. He got an even greater kick out of the boyfriend straighten himself out to attempt to look tough. He assumed her boyfriend was slightly intimidated by the military uniform.

"Anna," he said formally and nodded his head. "It's been quite some time…… how have you been?"

She took a deep breath in attempts to try and suppress her flustered cheeks and fumbled her purse when she tried to set it down on the end table. She sighed, "I'm doing great……never been better actually."

"That's good to hear…I'm glad," he politely said as he walked his way over to Letty, who was quietly snooping behind them. He wrapped his arms around his daughters shoulder. "Well, me and Letty are gonna head out……Anna would you mind if we used your car?"

"Uh…no… here," she said as she rummaged through her purse to retrieve them.

He turned his attention to Letty, "Mija, get the keys from your mom, I'm gonna go change out of this uniform." And he trudged upstairs to her room.

Letty quickly went to get the keys from her mother and decided to wait for her dad on the porch. She could sense some tension between her mother and Michael. From the looks of it he wasn't exactly excited or approving of her dad showing up or staying here. Right as Letty was closing the front door she could hear her mother and her boyfriend silently arguing.

Juan hurriedly entered Letty's room and retrieved his duffle bag. He unzipped it and pulled out a pair of dark denim jeans, a gray long sleeved thermal shirt, and black converse shoes. After dressing into civilian clothes he smiled as he laced up his shoes. He remembered when he first introduced them to Letty as a toddler, and was glad she still presently liked them. He slid up his sleeves a few inches and began neatly and tightly folding his uniform into his bag – just another habit picked up courtesy of the military. When he finished he treaded lightly downstairs where Anna and her boyfriend Michael were in a quiet, yet heated discussion.

Letty sat on the steps to her porch fiddling with the car keys as she waiting for her dad. She was going over in her mind all the places they could go and activities they could do together, including the people she wanted him to meet. As she was flipping through the newspaper to check the show times of the newest movies she heard footsteps approaching. Her eyes peeked over the top of the paper to see Mia. She folded it and sat it down beside her.

Mia sighed sympathetically. "Letty……I'm……I'm sorry. I can't believe Dom is with Suki……you must feel awf-"

"Nah, I don't feel awful. Besides, that's old news……guess what the new news is?" Letty interrupted eagerly.

Mia eyed Letty suspiciously. The change in her mood completely flabbergasted her. "Uh…I dunno…but tell me already."

Just as Letty was about to speak the front door opened revealing an unfamiliar face to Mia. Before her curiosity could ask Letty who exactly that was, it was answered for her. "Mia……I want you to meet my dad," she squealed out ecstatically.

Mia's mouth almost dropped. "Holy crap, your dad is here? When did he get here?"

"Like twenty minutes ago," she answered quickly.

"Oh my god, how cool is that," Mia continued as if it was just her and Letty standing on the porch.

Letty's father watched with amusement as the girls went back and forth on their short but detailed conversation about him showing up. When their conversation finished Mia face him and extended her hand to him.

"Hi Mr Ortiz, I'm Mia – one of Letty's best friends – it's so nice to finally meet you." she introduced ever so politely. "Letty talks about you all the time."

Juan gently shook her hand and smiled. "It's nice to meet you as well. Letty has told me all about you." He liked Mia's formality. Her etiquette wasn't for show or to impress. He could easily tell her kindness was genuine, something very rare to find in people. It only made him glad his daughter was surrounding herself with such good people. "Letty and I were just about to head out. Do you want to join us?"

Letty was motioning to Mia to shake her head yes. "Sure, I'd love to. I just have to get permission from my dad really quick. I'll be right back."

Mia ran down the street and raced inside to find her father. "Hey dad, guess what? Letty's dad is here visiting. How cool is that? Anyway, they invited me to tag along. So can I go? He seems super nice. But yeah can I go?"

Anthony set down the newspaper and eyed his daughter. Boy could she talk, he thought. "That's alright with me. But I'll walk you over so I can meet the man himself."

"Letty's dad is here? If Mia get's to tag along, I want to also," Vince interrupted as he walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream.

Anthony simply chuckled as he returned to reading his paper. He really did get a kick out of these kids.

Mia dressed into warm clothes to accommodate the cooling weather and trekked downstairs quickly.

"Alright, I'm ready, let's go dad," she yelled from the front door.

Anthony folded his newspaper and set it down on the table. He walked over to the hall closet to retrieve his coat. "Hey where is your brother?" he asked Mia.

"I dunno."

Vince came from the kitchen and answered him. "He went over Suki's house. He said he'd be back later." He zipped up his hooded and headed out the door with Mia and Anthony.

Letty and her father were looking under the hood of her mother's falling apart car when they heard footsteps approaching. They both peered over the hood and walked around the car to greet Mia, Vince, and Anthony.

Juan immediately extended his hand to Anthony. He took it in his and squeezed firmly. "Hi, I'm Jaun, Letty's father. Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Anthony said as he retracted his hand. "Letty has told us all about you. Nice to meet another mechanic."

After initial introductions of everyone were made Juan and Anthony engaged into conversation over the hood of Anna's car. Anthony was blown away by Juan's knowledge of cars, something he had not seen in any of his guys at the garage shop. It was quite the change of pace in conversation about cars. Most of the time it was spent teaching others so it was finally nice to partake in conversation where it was simple or where he was the one learning about cars. By the end of the conversation Anthony insisted that instead of bringing the kids home they'd stop by DT automotive instead. Juan – who was equally impressed by Anthony's vast knowledge of cars – gladly obliged.

"Alright, have fun you guys," Anthony waved as they climbed into Anna's car. "When you stop by the garage you'll be my eldest, Dominic."

Juan nodded and they drove off into the streets of Los Angeles. "So what does everyone want to do first?" he asked.

"A movie," Letty suggested.

"Or shopping," Mia added.

"Let's have lunch before any of that," Vince proposed.

Mia frowned at Vince. "Lunch? You've got to be kidding me……you just got done eating a massive bowl of ice cream, and who knows what else. Your stomach can manage through a few hours of shopping or a movie."

Vince rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I vote for lunch."

Juan smiled and chuckled a few times as their back and forth arguing and banter continued as he drove.

"How about we grab some burgers and fries, and then head to the movies," he offered, and added, "and then afterwards we'll do a little shopping……How does that sound?"

Vince responded first, "Fine by me, just as long as we eat something. Fat Burger is a great restaurant. I'm just sayin."

The two girls nodded in agreement as Letty's dad pulled into Fat Burger. They ordered cheeseburgers, fries, sodas, and milkshakes, and then got situated at a table to wait for their food. Everyone immediately immersed into conversation. Vince was fascinated by the fact that Letty's dad was in the army. He asked all kinds of questions from the traveling to the training they provided with and without weapons. And the fact that he shared an obsession with cars made him all the more likable. Mia stayed away from any topics involving cars. She was around them and heard about them twenty-four-seven at home and she wasn't about to waste her questions on cars. Instead, she asked about Hawaii – everything from its climate and beautiful sandy beaches, all the way to the people and their culture. While Mia and Vince asked their questions silence fell upon Letty. She listened and watched with a proud smile on her face. It made her happy to know that her friends found her dad equally amazing as she did. And when she did join in on the conversation it was to joke around or share a story from when she was much smaller.

After taming their growling stomachs they ventured over to the movie theater to catch the latest horror flick. Juan purchased the tickets while Letty, Vince, and Mia ran off to the arcade. Letty had her eyes set to play Metal Slug II, Mia ran off to feed her quarters to the rigged machines full of stuffed animals, while Vince sauntered toward whatever shooting game was there. After ten minutes of individual playing they all met up and swarmed the Street Fighter arcade game, each of them challenging one another. It was no surprise to either of them that Juan and Letty ended up being undefeated, until they played each other - with Letty barely winning with little health left.

Ten minutes before the movie was to start they got out their tickets and handed them to the ticket taker. It was pretty packed but there were four seats available - all together - up top and in the middle of the row. All four of them quickly jogged up the stairs to claim them before anyone else could. Letty and Mia took the two seats in the middle while Juan and Vince took the seats on the side of them. As the lights dimmed and the typical creepy musical melody horror movies often played began Letty and her father held the same expression - intrigued. They both were simply enamored with horror movies and made it a ritual to watch one every Friday night when they lived together. As the movie progressed they only got more and more excited and thrilled about the plots, twist, and surprises. Mia, however, spent half the time covering her eyes, saying "eww" or clutching to Vince's arm. Vince found it all so amusing.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Suki kissed Dom one last time through the car window before finally letting him go inside his house.

"Call ya later," she yelled out to him as her friend drove off down the street.

Dom simply nodded before climbing the porch steps and walking inside. He treaded lighting through the living room and into the kitchen to get something to eat. He opened the fridge and eyed the contents it held before finally settling on a ham and cheese sandwich. He pulled out the lunch meat and all the condiments he liked before assembling it. Just as he bit into his sandwich his dad appeared through the side door.

"It's about time you came home. Next time you leave I'd like to hear it from you first, not Vince," he told him sternly.

"Sorry pop," he said will his mouth full of sandwich. "So where is everyone?"

Anthony walked over to put on his coat and grabbed his keys. "Letty's father is in town visiting her. He took her out to spend some time with her and Mia and Vince went along with them."

Dom stopped chewing when his dad mentioned Letty's father and swallowed his sandwich so his mouth could go agape at Mia and Vince tagging along. He suddenly felt mad at Suki for pushing him to go over her house. He really didn't want to but she kept on insisting so he complied. And as great as his first time felt, he would have gladly held out a lot longer if it meant he was there to see Letty brighten up at the sight of her father. He was mentally kicking himself so hard he didn't hear his father continuing to talk.

"Dominic!" his father yelled loudly.

"Huh? Oh sorry, pop....what did you say?" he asked as though he was dazed.

Anthony eyed his son quizzically. "Have you been drinking?"

"What? Why would you think I've been drinking? I'm fine," he answered quickly. If he ever picked up a beer before the age of twenty one his father would whip his butt red.

His father narrowed his eyes. "Alright.....now come on let's go. I told Letty's father to meet us up at the shop. Let's get a move on."

Dom shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and poured himself a glass of punch before following his dad outside to his car. As they rode in silence Dom sporadically sipped his drink, whishing the liquid around to wash down any pieces of bread that stuck to his teeth. For reasons he couldn't quite understand he wanted to make a good impression on Letty's father.

When they finally reached the shop Letty, her dad, Vince, and Mia were already outside waiting.

Anthony tossed Dom the keys, "Go open up."

Dom picked up the keys and slid out of the car. He waved over to Letty and smiled at her. She looked utterly blissful and proud that her father was here. "What's up guys?"

"Bro, you missed out on one hell of an outing," Vince informed Dom as he patted his back.

"I bet I did," he answered as he unlocked the garage. As Anthony drove into the shop Dom approached Letty and her father. "Hi, I'm Dom, one of Letty's good friends, if not best friend," he said smirking at her.

Letty merely chuckled light heartedly. "Whatever you say, Dom."

Due to the fact that it was New Year's Day and most people assumed all places were closed there were no customers. The entire time at the shop was spent horsing around or getting to know Letty's father. Juan and Anthony spent a lot of time talking about the Dodge Charger and possible additions it could attain. While the adults talked and tinkered with the Charger in sheer fascination the younger generation went into the office to relax.

As Vince filled Dom in on the last details of his day with Letty and her dad he sighed. He was a little jealous that he wasn't one of the first people to meet her father. He considered his relationship with Letty to be above Vince's and Mia's, a lot more special. As the conversation wore on he tried not to let him visibly bother him. When silence of the day's events fell upon them Vince took the opportunity to pester Dom with questions about him and Suki.

"So when did you and Suki start dating?" Vince asked with a devious smile spread across his face.

Dom shook his head. Sometimes Vince would ask questions and crave details like a girl. "I dunno, a few weeks I guess. She's a cool chick, I like her a lot."

Mia sort of winced as those words left her brother's mouth. She glanced over at Letty to see the affect they had on her. She expected to see a roll of her eyes, a sigh of disgust or frustration, but to her surprise Letty appeared completely unaffected. It slightly took Mia back that she could be over her brother so quickly, but as long as she wasn't sad, she was alright with it.

"I like her too. You two make a good couple," Letty announced truthfully. "You should invite her to more of our outings."

Mia eyes went so wide by Letty's statements that it looked like they were on the verge of falling out of the sockets.

"Sheesh Mia, what's with the look? I thought you liked Suki," her brother asked incredulously.

"Huh? No I'm not doing it because of her-I just-I just forgot that I have this huge project due tomorrow," she lied quickly.

Dom arched one of his eyebrows. "Mia, I love you…but you're such a nerd."

As Mia regained her composure the conversation continued. She noticed how Letty abruptly changed back into just being Dom's best friend again. She found it quite odd but decided not to press her about it with her dad being present. And she figured if her brother was dumb enough to pass her over then he didn't deserve her at all. As time wore on it was no surprise that Anthony invited Letty's dad back to the house for dinner. They both got along really well, almost like brothers. Anthony even offered Juan a car to borrow from his garage for the remainder of his visit.

After finishing a classic Anthony Toretto dinner, Letty and her father finally ventured home. As they drove the short drive down the street they saw that Anna's boyfriend was finally leaving. Their conversation about Letty's father staying at their house must have been settled because he appeared to be in a good mood and even waved hello and goodbye to them. When they walked inside her mother had just finished making the couch up for her father to sleep on.

"If you get cold there's extra blankets in the hall closet," she informed Letty's father. "Goodnight."

He just nodded and watched as she said and kissed Letty goodnight.

When she disappeared upstairs they both ventured into the kitchen to build enormous ice cream sundaes as their dessert. They both changed into comfortable clothes and nestled comfortably on the couch and began watching Letty's small collection of action and horror movies. Thirty minutes into the fourth movie Letty's eyes slowly started to close. Her father smiled down at her as she engaged in a peaceful slumber. There were no words to explain how great or how happy he was to be around his daughter again. It only made him miss her that much more. He took both bowls to the kitchen sink, returned and turned off the TV. He effortlessly scooped Letty up into his arms and carried her up the stairs, into her room.

As he gently laid Letty down into her bed her eyes lazily fluttered open. "Dad…"she began, her voice thick with sleep, "do you think I can miss school……just for the days that you're here."

He smiled down at his daughter as tucked her tightly in bed. "I want to yeah, but with your mom letting me stay here, let's not press out luck. I promise I'll drive you and pick you up on time though."

Letty sleepily sighed and shut her eyes, "Fine."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I'll call you back, my dad is grilling me about cleaning up," Dom said through the phone to Suki. "Bye."

He placed the phone back on the receiver and sauntered back into the kitchen with his father. "What do you want me to clean up?"

"Wash the rest of the dishes and be sure to take out the trash when you're done," he answered.

"Alright," he responded unenthusiastically.

Dom walked over to the counter and looked at the remaining pile of dishes and crinkled his nose in disgust. He didn't understand how six people accumulated so many plates and glasses. He reluctantly ran the hot water and squeezed a generous amount of dish soap and watched as the sink became filled with suds. He shut off the water and dumped all the dishes into the sink. As he wished and washed plates and silverware his mind drifted off to Letty. All the stories she told about how great her dad was, was completely true. Know he knew where Letty got some of characteristics and sense of style with shoes. And after meeting and hanging out with him tonight he was eager to learn new techniques that he learned abroad while in the military. In Dom's eyes Juan was just as cool as his own father, almost like a duplicate.

When he finished putting away the dishes Dom gathered up all the garbage and emptied it into the trash cans on the side of the house. On his way back inside he glanced down the street to Letty's house. He saw the light on in the living room and wondered what she was doing. Instinctively he trekked inside and straight to the phone to call her house. He missed hanging out with Letty. The past couple of weeks had been pretty much all Suki. Not that he minded too much, but he missed his and Letty's alone time in his room or their own outings to the movies or pizza parlor. There were only certain personal things he could discuss with Letty, like how much he missed his mom. He quickly dialed her number and waited for her to answer. It rang and rang about seven times before he decided to finally hang up. He figured she passed out watching TV with her dad.

Completely forgetting to call Suki back, Dom trudged upstairs, took a hot lengthy shower and headed to bed.

The next morning Dom was woken up by a half asleep Mia. "Dom," she croaked out.

"Ugh, what Mia? I'm trying to sleep here," he groaned out from under his blanket.

"Me too, but the phone would not stop ringing, it's Suki, now go get the phone so she can stop calling," Mia said angrily as she stomped out of his room and back to her bed.

He sighed before kicking the blanket off of his body. He carefully walked downstairs and into the kitchen to get the phone. Just as he was going to place it on his ear he remembered he forgot to call her back last night after he finished cleaning up. Oh crap, he thought.

"Hey, Suki," he said into the receiver, his voice heavily permeating sleep.

He shook his head at how utterly wrong that went and couldn't believe how upset she was over not getting a phone call. It seemed quite childish that she didn't let him explain or even properly apologize. She automatically jumped to conclusions and assumed he was talking to other girls. Well, if Letty had answered her phone, it technically would have been true, but it was just Letty, he thought. Rather than bother calling her back and hear her nag him he put the ringer to the phone on low and went back upstairs to bed.

A few hours later he was woken by a light knock on his door. Having acquired a generous amount of sleep and feeling well rested he sprung up from his bed and answered the knock on his door amiably. The figure standing on the other side of his door slightly caught him off guard. "Hey, what's going on Letty?"

A few hours later he was woken by a light knock on his door. Having acquired a generous amount of sleep and feeling well rested he sprung up from his bed and answered the knock on his door amiably. The figure standing on the other side of his door slightly caught him off guard. "Hey, what's going on Letty?"

"Good afternoon to you too," she greeted, "we're going to go race……go karts, you wanna come?"

"Definitely, now I can show off the driving skills my dad has been teaching me," Dom said pretentiously.

Letty smirked and took it as a challenge before walking back across the hall and into Mia's room. Dom quickly gathered up some jeans, a shirt, and a hoodie, before jumping in the shower. It took him less than ten minutes to get dressed and as he laced up his shoes he met Letty going down the stairs.

"You gonna invite Suki?" Letty asked randomly. She looked up at Dom's uncertain face. "I think you should."

Dom sighed as he remembered this morning's conversation with Suki. "I dunno, we kind f had an argument this morning. I think the last person she wants to talk to is me. She's pretty mad."

Letty chuckled as she nudged him teasingly on his side, "already messing up, huh?"

"Shut up," he said as he playfully narrowed his eyes toward Letty.

"But seriously, you should call her, apologize, and at least invite it. She's a cool girl, you shouldn't mess it up with her," Letty said earnestly.

Dom paused at the last step and watched as Letty walked out the front door. She was right, so before heading to the car his dad loaned Juan he jogged over to the phone and dialed Suki's number. First he asked if she was still mad and then went on to apologize. Even though he thought it was silly he still did it because it hurt her feelings. When he felt she was in a better mood he invited her just like Letty said to, but she politely declined. Before their conversation continued on with its lovey dovey tone, the horn from the car outside had Dom hanging up rather quickly. Without wasting any more time he said goodbye to his dad and slide into the car with Vince, Mia, Letty, and her father.

Of all the activities they were surrounded by – mini golf, batting cages, arcades, and bowling – the go karts held and kept their attention for hours. Mia and Vince each won a race, but it was Letty and Dom who dominated the small track. By the time the "final" race of the day approached they were tied in wins six to six, so this race was going to be the deciding factor on who was the better racer, at least for now.

All four of them lined up their thirty mile-per-hour karts and anxiously waited for the signal lights to turn green. When the lights changed informing them to go, Letty and Dom sped off as if they were the only two on the speed way. They remained neck and neck through straight paths but at certain turns one would momentarily take the lead, but it didn't take long for them to become tied again. It wasn't until it the final turn that one of them saw an opening and took it. Letty saw a small gap and slammed her foot into the gas pedal to take the lead and cross the finish line with a broad grin spread across her face. Victory was indeed sweet.

Letty unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the kart. She walked over to Dom with a huge smirk spread across her face and placed her hand behind her ear. "What's that? I'm sorry I didn't hear. Where's all that smack you were talking?"

Dom did his best to fight back his smile. "Shut up," he grunted.

"Hahahaha! Now that's skill…skills of a natural driver. You know maybe I should be the one teaching you how to drive," Letty boasted.

He let out a small chuckle, even though it was slightly true. She drove like a natural. He could tell when her turn came to get behind the wheel of a real car with a real engine she'd do more than fine. "Don't get ahead of yourself Letty, it's one win, calm down."

Letty waved off his comment with hand. "Whatever, don't try to degrade my win. It's winning remember, doesn't matter if it's once or one hundred times."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the rules," he muttered.

After Mia and Vince were done grilling Dom about losing to Letty they finally ventured inside to eat something. They even played a few games where Dom tried to dominate in a few fighting games, but failed, only to lose to Mia this time – who hilariously pressed all the buttons at the same time. Before they left Mia, Vince, Dom, and Letty all piled into a photo machine to take silly pictures. Afterward Letty and father went in by themselves to take their own pictures.

When Dom got back home Letty made him call Suki back. He even invited her over to hang out for their final night off before school they had to return to school.

Much to Letty's delight, Juan took over the duty of driving everyone to school when it went back in session. He was even promptly on time when picking them up. Each day Letty would beg her father to stay home with him but she never won that battle. But it only made her cherish the time afterschool and all the time they spent together. The only day of school she was allowed to miss was the day her father had to return back to his base. That day her eyes remained glistening with tears throughout. Anna drove Juan to the airport with Letty snuggled tightly next to him, trying with all her might to keep her tears from spilling over from her eyes. The closer they came to the airport the tighter her grasp became. As they exited the car Letty held her father's hand tightly and when it came time to part at the security check point her heart melted. The tears she had fought so hard to keep within her eyes finally pored over.

Juan knelt down onto to one knee so that he was within eye level with Letty. "Oh mija," he began as he wiped her tear stained cheeks clean, "this isn't goodbye. I promise I'll try to come back as soon as I can. Okay?"

Letty merely nodded and sniffled through her sobs.

"I love you……give me a huge hug," he ordered as he opened up his arms for her embrace.

Without any hesitation she ran into her father's arms and held onto him for dear life. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent to memorize it again. She let her breath out slow as they slowly pulled away. Letty did her best to smile at her father but her crying turned into more of a frown. "I love you too dad," she whispered and watched as he reluctantly walked through security, and toward his plane.

The ride back home was filled with silent sobs from the back seat. Letty's mom would occasionally look back at her through the rearview mirror to make sure she was alright and offer a comforting smile. As Anna pulled into the driveway of their home Anthony was just returning from picking up his gang from school. Letty ignored Vince's yelled from the down the street as she trekked up the porch steps and inside the house.

"Don't take it personal V, she just misses her dad already," Mia informed him.

"Yeah," Vince sighed. "Hopefully she'll swing by later though."

As Mia, Vince, and Anthony went inside Dom and Suki remained outside. He was peering down the street with a concerned look on his face, wondering exactly how Letty was holding up. He knew she would refuse if he tried to go over and talk to her or attempt to comfort her, but it didn't stop him from wanting to.

"So…," Suki interrupted his thoughts, "do you want to go in the basement to study, or you wanna go upstairs to your room and watch a movie?"

"Maybe a little later. I think I'm gonna go over and see if Letty is alright," he told her. "Here, do you mind taking in my backpack?"

Suki gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious? I come over your house after school and you want to go over Letty's house by yourself? That's a joke, right?"

Dom looked at Suki quizzically. He thought she understood his close relationship with Letty. "Um, yeah. Letty's one of my best friends, she's pretty bummed right now, and I want to go see if she's alright. If she wants to talk. That's what best friends do, they're there for each other, you know?"

She heaved a heavy sigh. "Look, I have a dad who is in the military too. Letty will deal and get over it. So come on let's go up to your room."

Dom was in utter disbelief. "You can go up to my room if you want, but I'm gonna go see Letty."

He walked away from Suki without looking back, but he heard her sigh disapprovingly and trudge up the steps to his porch and slam the front door. He ignored it and continued his gait toward Letty's house. He knocked firmly until someone answered. To his surprise Letty answered the door.

"Hey Letty," he greeted nervously, uncertain to how she was going to react.

"Hey, what's up?" she said flatly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, I just came by to see how you're holding up. I know you're dad left today so-"

"Look Dom, I'm dealing alright. I'll be okay. You can go back to home, I think I just need today for myself," she told him bluntly.

"No," he told her stubbornly. "I'm coming in." And he pushed open the door and walked in passing her.

She rolled her eyes at his actions and shut the front door before joining him in the living room.

"You're a really stubborn, you know that?" she said as she sat beside him on the sofa.

"Likewise," he said with a smirk and to his surprise she smiled. "So, I know you're feeling pretty crappy because you're dad had to leave but-"

"Crappy is a bit of an understatement," she interjected. "It's beyond crappy."

He looked at Letty as she stared at the wall trying to fight back her lips and steady her bottom lip from quivering. "Hey, it's okay. If you want to cry, go ahead. It's okay to cry Letty; you don't have to hold it in. You miss your dad, I understand." He patted his shoulder, "Come on, and just let it out."

She looked over at him and gave him a half smile before resting her head on his shoulder and crying. As she wept for missing her father Dom wrapped an arm around her, occasionally running his fingers through her hair.

"Even though it was just a week, I got so used to him being here. It reminded me of when we were a family. There seriously is nothing like having two parents," She blurted out randomly.

"Yeah, I know. Tell me about it," Dom agreed as he remembered and missed his own mother. "But shutting down doesn't help. It's better to keep busy, you know. And it's not like you'll never see your dad again. If he said he'll come back soon, then he will. He seems like the type of guy who keeps his word."

The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments before finally separating from each other's embrace.

"I'm gonna head home now. Suki is over there waiting for me, plus I'm starving and my dad is making chicken carbanara. You wanna come?" he offered.

"Alright," she accepted. "I gotta apologize to V, anyway. I did hear him yell from the down street."

She grabbed her sweater from the closet and walked with him down the street. When she walked through the door she saw Suki sitting on the couch flipping through channels. The expression painted on her face looked like one of annoyance. When Suki looked up from the TV she gave both her and Dom a death glare. Letty did her best to ignore it and walked over to the kitchen to find Mia helping her dad with dinner.

"Hey Letty, good to see you. I'm sorry to hear your dad had to go back soon, he's a good guy to have around," Anthony greeted.

She smiled. "Thanks Mr T."

"You hungry? You better be because I just got done helping my dad make tons of pasta and chicken," Mia stated.

"Starving," Letty answered as she helped her set the table for dinner.

As her and Mia began setting napkins and silverware they both heard Suki and Dom raising their voices in the living room.

"What's that all about?" Mia asked startlingly.

"Not sure," Letty responded as she tried to strain her hearing. "But it might be about me. Suki gave me this mean ole look when I walked through the door."

Mia dropped the reaming forks in her hands. "Seriously? Oh, do tell."

Letty chuckled. "There's nothing to tell. But my guess is she's mad that Dom went over my house instead of staying here with her. And to be honest I really can't blame the girl."

"What? Why? It's just you, Letty. I mean you're having a bum day, what's wrong with going over and trying to cheer you up?" Mia asked confused.

"Come on Mia, you're telling me if you went over your boyfriend's house and he left to go to another girl's house, you wouldn't be a little pissed off?" Letty asked, arching one eyebrow in the process.

Mia took a moment to think about it. "Well………I guess I would be a little mad."

Before either of them could finish gossiping they both fell silent as Dom and Suki walked in and took a seat the table. This time Suki's expression was different, a lot more approachable, and polite. She even offered smiles to both Mia and Letty. However, they both sensed it was a façade, for show to put on in front of Dom's dad. When the two girls finished setting the table they went back into the kitchen to help Anthony bring out the food and breadsticks. The conversation was light, mostly talking about the first day back from winter break, and all the homework they had.

It was during cleaning up that Letty pulled Dom aside to talk to him.

"So, judging by the way Suki gave me the death glare when I walked she was pretty mad that you changed your plans and went over my house. Not cool, Dom. Just you don't have to change your plans with Suki or hold them off because I'm having a bad day, okay? Suki is a cool girl; don't start messing up on my account." Letty explained quickly.

Dom looked at her for a moment and smiled. "Letty, shut up. Besides, life has a way of changing one's plans."

Before she could say anything else he walked away to join Suki, Vince, and Mia in the living room to watch a movie. Letty smiled and followed him and took a seat next Vince. Their encounter today only made her glad that she chose to give up on Dom being her boyfriend. She wouldn't ever want to sacrifice how close they were as friends by chancing it by being boyfriend and girlfriend. She was finally content with how they were.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Eventually, Suki got over Dom's friendship antics and things returned to normal and back to a great relationship, at least for awhile anyway. As months wore on there were moments where Dom preferred to only share things with Letty, such as the exact date when his mother died or when he needed to vent in general. It was becoming so much for Suki that she started to become jealous of Letty. And as always it was Letty who convinced and told Dom to fix the situation every time. There were moments when it started to become too much for all three of them. On some occasions the tension between Dom, Suki, and Letty was so intense that anyone within close proximity could sense it. As the troubles continued on through summer Letty suggested to Dom that he refrain from always running to her if he wanted his relationship with Suki to survive. Feeling completely torn Dom decided not to give up either and settled on clandestine meetings with Letty throughout the summer.

It wasn't until the night before Dom was to start his first day of high school that Suki found out. Instead of having her friend drive her straight home, she had her park down the street behind a car so she could do some sneaky spy work. Much to her dismay she saw her boyfriend jogging across the street toward Letty's house.

"Asshole," she breathed out angrily.

Rather than go home she had her friend drop her off in front of the Toretto house. She sat on the porch and began to wait. An hour elapsed, and just when she was going to give up and call home, she saw Dom walking down the street toward her direction. She sat straight up and all the anger that dissipated while she was waiting instantly returned. When Dom made it to the walk way of his house his eyes caught site of Suki. Seeing her sitting on the porch and the expression that was plastered on her face told him everything. He drew in a deep breath and slowly walked toward her. He knew he was in for an epic battle tonight.

Suki stood from where she was sitting and folded her arms across her chest. "Did you have fun?"