xX Chapter Ten Xx

Brian smiled wistfully out his apartment window. Dom had Talia on the street below, Dom in typical jeans and tank, and Talia in a swimsuit. Dom had pulled his car right up by the curb in front of the building, and he and Talia had buckets full of soapy water and sponges, flinging water at each other and laughing more than actually washing the car.

Dom had been back in their lives for two weeks now. Brian had had to leave his job at a local garage in order to help the FBI go after Braga, and he hadn't gotten around to looking for another one yet. Every day of the past weeks he had spent with Talia and Dom, going to parks, to the beach, even spending one very memorable day turning Brian's living room into a giant blanket fort and playing make-believe with Talia and her toys in between watching Disney movies with her. Every day Dom and Talia grew closer, and Brian was so happy for both of them, even if he'd never expected anything less.

What he hadn't expected was that every day he and Dom grew closer as well, whether either of them would admit it or not.

They hadn't talked any more about feelings or family since Dom made his claim that first morning back: "You're mine now." Every night after Talia was tucked in, Brian would walk Dom to the apartment door, telling himself with every step that this was the moment, this was when he would ask Dom what he meant or tell Dom how he felt or - something. But every night they would stare at each other for a few moments, then Dom would nod, and he'd be gone until the next morning.

And then Brian would be alone all night with his thoughts.

Dom had said he was officially family now, but was he just saying that because of Talia? He had said that he would never tear her away from the only family she knew, but what happened when she and Dom had become just as close as she and Brian were? Brian hadn't seen the papers from Tanner since Dom first confronted him after the hospital, but what did that mean? Had Dom signed them? Had he thrown them out? Was he waiting until he had a stronger relationship with Talia, and then he'd sign them?

A phone started vibrating on the table beside Brian, and he reached over and flipped it open to answer without thinking. Before he could say anything, a voice he hadn't heard in five years started talking very quickly on the other end.

"Dom? Where are you?! You said you'd be home soon. Look... I know there are a lot of things in LA that you need to work out with her, but your family is here-your family is here. Her family is here. It's time to-" Brian ended the call, unable even to hear Mia say the words; hear her telling her brother to rip Brian's whole world apart.

He never noticed the tears on his face.

xXxXxXxXx

Dom chuckled warmly and tousled Talia's hair as he let the dripping girl into the apartment and sent her to the bathroom to shower.

"Go get warm and clean, or your daddy's gonna have my head. I'll get you some clean clothes to change into." He shook his head as Tali skipped her way over to the bathroom, happy and carefree in a way that made Dome more grateful to Brian and his parenting every day he saw it.

Dom was still smiling when he pushed the door open to Talia's room, but he stopped short when he found Brian sitting on the edge of Talia's race-car bed, staring down unmoving at the worn yellow blanket that Talia's mother had wrapped her up in when she left her at the hospital; the blanket Tali still slept with every night.

"What happened to you O'Conner, you look like someone died," Dom said, trying to lighten whatever bleak mood the other man was in as he stepped carefully into the room. He nearly cringed at the dead look in Brian's eyes when he raised his head to look at Dom.

"Were you going to tell me before you took her away, or were you just going to disappear?" It was the bleak despair in Brian's voice as much as the words that made Dom stop short, entirely serious in a single moment.

"What the hell are you on about, O'Conner?" He asked, voice deceptively calm. He almost didn't catch his phone when Brian picked it up from behind him on the bed and flung it at Dom's chest.

"Mia called."

"You talked to Mia?"

"No. I didn't say a word... didn't have to. I picked up your phone without looking, and she started talking as soon as I answered." He stood suddenly, pain and betrayal shining in his eyes as he glared at Dom. "She's very anxious for you and Vitalia to get home to your family." Brian's voice was rough and gravelly, like he was fighting back tears, and when Dom grabbed his arm to stop him from shoving past him out of the room, all his muscles were rigid with tension.

"I didn't tell Mia about Talia, Brian. Hey! Listen to me." Dom couldn't decide whether he wanted to hug Brian or shake him as the man fought to get out of his grasp. "I haven't told anyone O'Conner! That kind of decision gets made as a family, and sooner or later you're going to have to figure out that we're a family. We're her parents, Brian." Unable to stop himself, Dom reached up to brush a tear out of the corner of Brian's eye, his hand lingering against Brian's face. "You need to talk to me for us to make this work."

It seemed to take Brian a long time to decide whether or not he could trust Dom, but in the end he leaned into the touch, closed his eyes and repeated what Letty had told him over the phone.

"She wasn't talking about Talia, Buster." It was the fond, gentle way Dom said the nickname more than the word itself that made Brian open his eyes again. "I don't like to lie to Mia, so I haven't been taking her calls since finding out about Talia. She's left me messages every couple of days, wanting me to come home so we can grieve over Letty together. She was talking about Letty Brian; she thinks I'm punishing myself by staying here with all my memories of Letty, drowning myself in guilt." Dom watched as Brian's breath caught when he framed Brian's face with both his hands. "Mia doesn't realize that the last two weeks I've felt more alive than I have in five years."

Neither man would remember later who leaned in first, but both would always agree that the kiss had been one of the best of their lives.