Authoress Notes: Sorry it's been so long since my last update. I've been working my butt off, but I got a day off and spent it working on this and a couple other stories. I got a great Mia/Brian scene in this part. I hope you all like it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please read and review.
Crossing Lines: Part Ten
Dinner that night had been fairly quiet, until Morgan asked his mother what 'knocked up' meant and Mia started choking on her water. The six-year-old was informed that he and Jenny would talk about it when he was older and he was not to use that phrase around any of his friends. Brian and Letty had both jumped to Mia's aid to see if she was alright, but she waved them both off and rushed away from the table. Dom and Brian both looked confused at her departure and Letty blurted out that she'd go make sure Mia was okay.
Dom was confused and awake. He always knew when something was wrong with his family and it unsettled him. He looked over at Letty, lying in the bed next to him. She was sleeping soundly, not surprising, after everything she'd been through the past few months. He kissed her cheek and eased out of bed. He pulled on a pair of jeans, and a t-shirt before slipping into Sofia's room. He walked over to her crib and peered down at his sleeping daughter.
He brushed a finger over her tiny cheek, "It's after midnight. Happy Birthday, Angel." He smiled and watched her sleep for another few minutes before walking out into the hallway. He noticed the kitchen light was on and walked towards the light. Jenny was sitting in a kitchen chair staring out towards the ocean. He cleared his throat in an attempt not to scare her, but she still jumped.
"Lord, I am never gonna get used to having men in the house." She rested her hand over her heart.
"Sorry. I didn't think anyone would be up." Dom explained, and looked back towards the hallways.
"You can sit if you want, I wouldn't mind the company. I could get you some tea or water or something to eat." Jenny offered.
"I don't need anything." He sat down in the chair next to Jenny and muttered, "Just a job."
Her eyebrow arched.
"Legitimate work; don't worry I'm not gonna draw any more trouble your way." He cracked his knuckles. "I can turn a wrench pretty good."
Jenny smiled. "I've heard. I'm sure the reward money that you and Brian got for saving that girl could go a long way."
"That's Brian's money. I didn't even look at that girl; I was too upset about Letty. He can use it for him and Mia."
Jenny's expression was very carefully neutral, "Him and Mia?"
Dom shook his head in disbelief, "He actually asked my permission to marry her. It was… weird."
"I imagine. Are you okay with it?"
"Not my place. It's her choice, always has been. I just wanted…I wanted better for her than this. I never wanted her to get involved in my fuck-ups. She was supposed to have a good life."
Jenny looked at Dom, "Dom, she doesn't seem unhappy to me. And there are plenty of opportunities around here, if this is somewhere you all what settle."
"No offence, but it's a little quiet to get enough business fixing cars around here. I wouldn't be able to keep a shop running."
"What about racing?" Jenny questioned. "Letty and Mia tell me that you're pretty good."
"Was." Dom stood up from the table. "I was banned from the tracks, I'm sure that got mentioned too."
"American tracks." She quietly corrected.
"No association would take me."
"None that's up and running, but you could run races yourself. Street racing is big a little further south from here. It's what a quarter mile at a time? I mean if you had say, a half a mile, you could run drags pretty safely."
He looked at her suspiciously, "You'd need a track and paving is expensive and if you wanted to run something like that you'd want garage space, which takes money too. It would take too much money to start from scratch."
"But an existing space could be fixed up and wouldn't cost nearly so much. Like for example an abandoned airport with hanger space?"
"Possible. But you'd have to find one that the pavement isn't too tore up at."
Jenny got up from the table and pulled a file folder out of a drawer in her desk, "It's about 25 minutes from here, it's for sale, the pavement is 85% good, and the hanger structure is sound." She laid the folder on the table and opened it to reveal pictures and paperwork from assessments.
Dom looked over the contents, "You really did your homework."
"I've been raising Sofia for eight months, my son loves her and so do I. If you think I wouldn't want to keep her close, you'd be crazy." Jenny grabbed the keys to her jeep and jingled them playfully. "You wanna go take a look at it?"
"What time is it?"
"Quarter to four. I doubt anyone will wake up before we get back."
"Let's do it." Dom smiled and caught the keys Jenny threw to him.
"You're driving. I ain't getting critiqued again." She explained as they walked through the house.
Dom held the front door open for the red-head. "I can't believe Letty ever let you drive her anywhere."
"Oh, it was only once." Jenny locked the door behind them. "She was in labor and still complaining about my driving."
Dom laughed out loud as they walked to the jeep.
.:.
Brian's eyes flew open at the sound of a car pulling either out of or into the driveway. He listened for another minute and determined that it was pulling away. He looked at the clock and squinted in the pre-dawn to read the numbers 3:50. He could feel Mia shifting in bed next to him, she'd been distant that last few days and he wished he knew what was bothering her so much.
"Are you awake?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah." She muttered back, but kept curled up on her side of the bed.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Brian. I just can't sleep." Mia pulled the covers closer to her.
Brian climbed out of bed and paced across the room. He walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers.
"Are you getting up?" She asked him sleepily. "I wasn't trying to get rid of you."
"I know." Brian closed the drawer and walked over to her side of the bed. He knelt next to her and smoothed the hair back away from her face. "I love you, Mia Toretto. You know that right?"
Mia nodded and fought down the guilt over her secret. She had to tell him. This wasn't fair to keep from him. "Brian, I love you too." She sat up slowly and patted the bed next to her. "Sit, we need to talk."
He shook his head and stayed where he was. He took a hold of her hand and lifted a small box up in his other hand.
Mia's breath caught in her throat as she noticed how he was actually down on one knee next to the bed. Her eyes filled with tears as he opened the box to reveal, the silver-colored Claddagh wedding band with a diamond heart.
"Mia Toretto, I love you more than anything in this world. I already talked to Dom and got his blessing. I just need to ask you now. Will you marry me?"
Mia nodded and finally managed a quiet, "Yes." She started crying as he slipped the ring on her finger.
Brian got on the bed with Mia and gathered her into his arms. "I love you."
"I love you too." Mia was trying to stop crying, but she just couldn't help it; pregnancy hormones she figured.
"Was it that bad of a proposal or are those happy tears?" Brain finally asked, looking down at her.
"Overwhelmed tears, it was a good proposal." She answered. "I can't believe you asked Dom." Mia looked down at the ring and turned it to catch the light. "What did he say?"
"Not much, you know Dom." Brian chuckled, "I just got the standard threat and the 'she better not be knocked-up' comment that Morgan heard."
"What if I was?" Mia hugged herself against him.
"Well, he said he would really kill me." Brian felt her grip tighten on him. "Mia, I don't really think he'd kill me."
"I am." She whispered the phrase so quiet that she was sure he couldn't have heard her. She felt Brian shift, and he lifted her chin to look into her eyes. His eyes were wide and questioning. "I am." She repeated and pressed his hand to her stomach. She stared at him needing some kind of re-assurance or at the very least a reaction. "Brian?"
He leaned his forehead against hers and softly questioned, "So do you want to have the wedding before or after our baby is born?"
.:.
The sun was peeking over the horizon as Dom and Jenny pulled back into the driveway.
"You were right. It'll work. I can't wait to show it to Letty." Dom was grinning from ear to ear. "How did you find that place?"
"It was photo shoot location actually." Jenny answered and grabbed the breakfast they'd picked up out from the backseat. "It worked perfectly."
"I thought you painted." Dom unlocked the front door and held it open for Jenny.
Jenny nodded her thanks, "I do, but I also take photographs, sculpt and I have even painted my models and then photographed them."
"Really? I thought artist stuck to one thing or another."
"Do you only work on one type of car?"
Dom surrendered, "Okay, point taken."
Jenny set the breakfast out on the breakfast island, and put her hands on her hips. "Well, since no one it up yet; would you like to see some pictures of Letty from before Sofia was born? I was promised a painful death if I ever showed then to a living soul, but I'm feeling lucky today."
"I'd love to."
"Awesome." Jenny grinned. "Start the coffee, I'll grab the album."
Dom turned on coffee pot and smiled at the thought of a home again. A camera flash made him jump and he whirled around to face Jenny with a digital camera in hand.
"Sorry, I was in the moment. It'll look awesome when I manipulate it."
Dom warned her, "You can't put it up anywhere."
"I wasn't planning on it. Only about a tenth of my work ever sees the outside world." Jenny pointed to the album. "Sit. Look. I'll get the dishes out for breakfast."
Dom sat at the table and flipped the book open to look through its contents. The first shot was of Letty, with barely a bump of her stomach, poking it with a confused expression. In the second shot she was smiling softly, rubbing her belly. The third shot showed her belly getting bigger and she was holding an ultrasound picture next to it. The ultrasound picture was taped next to that third shot and Dom marveled at how tiny and precious Sofia looked. Picture after picture of Letty with her belly, some where she looked happy, some she looked annoyed, and in others Morgan was 'helping' show her belly's size.
Near the back of the album was a picture that made Dom stop. The picture looked almost black and white because of the shadows. It was Letty in profile: she was standing next to an older mustang in a pair of coveralls, and white tank-top. The coveralls were only pulled up to her hips and the tank didn't quite cover her belly completely. The picture was so reminiscent of how she always looked at DT's it was eerie. She even had a wrench in her hand.
"I love that picture. It's one of the best I've ever taken." Jenny's voice startled Dom and she set a cup of coffee next to him. "I think I hear Sofia. You wanna go get her, or should I?"
"No, I'll get her." Dom stood up and took a breath to get his emotions back under control. "Thank you for showing me those."
"You're welcome."
***I so wish I could draw that last picture. I can see it in my head. I hope you all enjoyed this part. ****