So, this is my longest chapter so far. And hopefully it's awesome and doesn't seem too rushed or anything.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything from the original storyline, just the tweaks on it and the characters not found in the movie(s)
So, I hope you enjoy, and once again, this chapter is dedicated to Venus, who will probably bust up laughing.
Race Wars is coming very soon!
On with the story...
Fast and the Furious 10
She had been in the emergency room for three hours before someone could see her son and she was beyond pissed. Then it was another hour and half of dealing with idiot nurses and doctors and screwy x-rays before they could tell her that not only had the boy's shoulder been dislocated, but there was a hairline fracture on his radial (in the forearm) bone as well. Great, just freaking great. They told her they were sure he'd be fine if her just took it easy and relaxed, nothing too strenuous, but just to be safe, they were going to put a cast on him. Fine. He also had a pretty bad gash on the left side of his forehead from where his head hit the ground that she hadn't noticed, but the assured her that he did not have a concussion and stitched him up. Soon as the plaster of the cast was dry enough, they were ready to go. Except, Ashlynn had to explain how this happened to her son.
"You want to know what happened?"
"Yes, ma'am, we need to know for legal purposes."
"Well, you won't believe me, but SWAT came into the house of the family friend I'm staying with, my son was scared out of his mind and holding onto the leg of the person they were trying to take. He wouldn't let go and it pissed off one of the officers and instead of calmly trying to get him to let go or have me come get him, the officer grabs my son by his arm and rips him off of my friend. Next sound I hear is a loud pop and my son is on the ground screaming."
The doctor looked at her wide eyed, not sure if he should believe what she was telling him, but the anger in her eyes kept him from making a comment about it. He just nodded and wrote down what she had told him.
"Is that all?" Ashlynn asked, crossing her arms.
"Yes, I believe that's all."
"Good, now, I need a copy of everything you have on record about my son."
"May I ask why?"
Ashlynn stared blankly at the doctor. "So that I can take it to the police department in the morning and figure out which one of the officers I'm going to get to pay for the damage he cause my son."
"We normally don't do that."
"I know, and unless you want me to sue this hospital for lack of cooperation for legal matters, you will make me a copy of everything you've recorded about my son."
The doctor looked frightened before he nodded. "Yes ma'am." And with that he scurried off.
"Mamma…" Luciano called sleepily from where he sat on the examination table.
"Yes Bambino?" She asked walking over to him.
"I'm hungry, and tired." He mumbled.
"I know, me too Bambino." She said, wrapping her arms around him, hugging him close, pressing a kiss to the top of the boy's head.
"When can we leave?"
"As soon as the doctor gets back with the paperwork I asked for."
Luciano was dozing against Ashlynn when the doctor came back ten minutes later with copies of everything.
"There's a set of x-rays there too." The doctor told her softly as she took the folder from him.
"Thank you." She said as she carefully put the folder into her purse, trying not to wake Luciano. "If that's all, I'd like to be going now."
The doctor nodded, "Yes, of course."
Ashlynn nodded and gently picked Luciano up and left the room, walking down the halls and out of the hospital.
"Mamma?" Luciano asked groggily.
"Hmmm?"
"Where are we going?"
"I'm not sure yet." She told him as she unlocked the car door. "In you go baby."
Sluggishly, Luciano got into the backseat and Ashlynn made sure he was buckled in before getting in and situating herself. She grabbed her phone and sent a text to Jesse.
'Hey, are you guys all still up?'
'Yeah, why? What's up?'
'Luc and I just got out of the ER and I don't feel like going back to Johnny's. Was hoping we could maybe crash there.'
'Dom says you're always welcome. What happened?'
'I'll explain when we get there.'
'Alright, see you soon.'
'Yeah.'
Sighing softly, she glanced back at Luciano, who had dozed back off. Her poor baby.
'Hey, V. I'm gonna take Luc to Dom's. Gonna crash there tonight.'
'Why?'
'Cuz it's closer.'
'You want me and S to come?'
'No, stay there, especially incase Johnny gets back tonight or in the morning, let me know what happens, ok?'
'Yeah, sure. You got it. Be careful, yeah?'
'Yeah, I'll be careful. Let S know what's going on, yeah?'
'Got it.'
'Thanks V.'
'Course Ash.'
And with that, Ashlynn started the car and took off to Dom's home. It took her about fifteen minutes to make the normally twenty-five to thirty minute trip, especially since there was minimal traffic. When she arrived, the outside light was on, as was the living room lights. Ashlynn got out and gently woke Luciano enough for him to help her get him out of the car.
"Come on Bambino. Let's get you inside." She said softly, locking and closing her door before walking up to the house and knocking softly on the front door.
Seconds later, the door opened to reveal a worried Dom and he let her in, closing the door behind her before directing her into the kitchen where the rest of the team sat, worried looks on their faces as well.
"What happened?" Mia asked as she looked at the cast on the boy's arm.
"SWAT happened." Ashlynn muttered angrily as she sat down, causing Luciano to wake slightly.
"Mamma?"
"Hmmm?"
"Where are we?"
"We're at Dom's house."
"Ok," He paused and yawned widely. "Mamma?"
"Yes baby?"
"I'm hungry."
Ashlynn smiled softly, vaguely aware of Mia getting up from the table. "I know."
"Here. They're leftovers from earlier." Mia said as she placed a plate of barbequed chicken on the table along with some pasta salad and fruit salad, as well as a bottle of water.
"Thanks Mia." Ashlynn said softly as the girl placed an empty plate in front of her. Turning her attention back to Luciano, she brushed his bangs out of his face, causing the stitches to become visible and she frowned softly. "You want some chicken Bambino?" She whispered to him. He just nodded. "Alright." With that said, she grabbed a piece of chicken and put it on the empty plate and scooped some of the pasta and fruit onto the plate as well. "You gotta wake up some more to eat baby."
"I'm awake," He mumbled and Ashlynn smiled softly before shredding some of the chicken for him.
"Here baby." She said softly, spearing some of the chicken and holding it to his mouth.
Luciano didn't protest as he normally would have at having his mother feed him. He just ate and Ashlynn would take a bite every now and then as the team watched the two of them curiously. When Luciano deemed himself full, he curled up against Ashlynn, his head resting on her chest, listening to her heart beat and she stroked his hair until he fell back to sleep. When he was fully asleep, Ashlynn turned her attention back to the team and sighed softly.
"So, what exactly happened?" Letty asked. "Everything was great when you guys left."
"Well," She began, taking a sip of water as she found her mouth becoming increasingly dry. "When we got back to Johnny's family's place Venus and Johnny were in her car, I assume they got there just minutes before we did and as soon as I cut the engine, I saw V go running into the house. I jumped on his case about it, ready to kick his ass, but he told me that she had told him her past and her real name." She paused to take a bite of the pasta. "So, I left Luc with Johnny and went upstairs to talk to Venus. She was crying. Which she hasn't done in a…very, very long time. So, I cheered her up a bit and we briefly talked about my run in with my ex and I was about to suggest we go down to dinner when everything went to hell." She sighed sadly and looked down at Luciano, holding him close to her, still being wary or his cast and stitches.
"And then what?" Vince asked softly.
"SWAT busted the door in and there was a lot of screaming and yelling. Venus and I darted out of her room and downstairs, I think S was behind us or in the dining room, but I didn't really notice." She paused, staring into space as she watched the scene replay in her head over and over, a tear falling from her eye. "All I noticed was that Luciano was latched onto Johnny's leg, he was so scared, he didn't know what was going on." Her voice shook as she continued. "One of the officers was getting frustrated 'cause Luc wouldn't let go, so, he grabbed Luc by the arm and ripped him off of Johnny's leg. Next thing I heard was a loud pop, my baby was on the floor screaming. I ran at the office that hurt him, but another one held me back. I remember yelling at the one holding me to let me go, that he hurt my baby. Everything seemed to stop, the officer restraining me took me over to Luc and acted like a shield so I couldn't get the officer who hurt him… He was crying so much, telling me over and over that it hurt. They hauled Johnny away and I told them that I'd be talking to their superiors about it and I wasn't taking no for an answer." She paused to eat more of the food left on the plate before continuing. "And so, I took Luc to the ER. Waited for three hours before he was seen to and there was nothing I could do to ease his pain or comfort him. I hadn't even noticed the blood on his face, I was so worried about his arm… We waited for another hour and half, roughly, for them to be able to tell me that not only had his shoulder been dislocated, but there's also a hairline fracture in his radial bone. Most likely from the amount of pressure the officer used when he pulled Luc away from Johnny. They stitched him up and told me that even though he'd probably be fine if he just took it easy for the next four or so weeks, they wanted to put a cast on him, So I agreed. And then they wanted to know how it happened, and then I got copies of all the records they made on Luc and I'm going to the police department in the morning. Either I'll sue the whole department or they'll find the one who hurt my son and he's going to pay the hospital bill or I'm going to sue him." She sighed softly, looking down at Luciano, who was sleeping peacefully in her lap, curled up against her.
"So who the hell narc'ed on Johnny and what for?" Dom mumbled.
Ashlynn just looked over at Dom and the two of them held a silent conversation for a few minutes, full of raising and scrunching of eyebrows head shaking and nodding, ending with Dom's eyebrows shooting up before furrowing together as his eyes narrowed. Ashlynn nodded.
"I see."
The rest of the team was looking at them like they were crzy.
"What are you going on about?" Leon asked.
"Don't worry about it." Dom murmured as Ashlynn polished off the food on the plate, scooping more pasta salad onto the plate and practically scarfing it down.
"Hungry much?" Letty asked.
Ashlynn blushed lightly. "I've only had a few granola bars to eat today, I didn't eat breakfast 'cause Luc and I went to the beach, ran into my ex, and then we went to the shop and I was preoccupied and didn't think to eat then, and then SWAT happened, so I didn't get to eat dinner." She muttered. "So, yeah, I'm hungry."
"Where are your friends at?" Jesse asked.
"They're still at Johnny's. They're gonna stay there tonight and maybe tomorrow. At least until Johnny gets back." Ashlynn said, downing the rest of the water in the bottle, smiling softly at Mia when the girl fetched another bottle for her.
"Are you gonna be alright Baby Girl?" Vince asked, watching her.
"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine. I think." She said tiredly. "I just, I haven't been in a hospital since my parents died and before that, I hadn't been in a hospital since Luc was born and I had hoped to never have to take him there… Not until he was at least seven or eight." The group nodded as she drank some of the water and finished the pasta salad on the plate.
"Well, you and your friends are always welcome here." Dom told her softly.
Ashlynn snorted. "You might want to hold off on extending that invitation to my friends. Remember, I said you probably wouldn't get along? I wasn't joking."
"Yeah, I remember, but they're your friends, so, you know."
Ashlynn smiled and nodded. "That's very nice, but right now, I'm super drained and I'd really like to just crash. The adrenaline has left my system, So I'm pretty freaking tired."
Dom chuckled. "Alright Baby Girl. Can you stand?"
"Uhm, yes?" She mumbled as she slowly stood, cradling Luciano to her as she did, swaying a bit, only to have Jesse stand up and steady her. Dom nodded at Jesse, who nodded back. See, everyone can have silent conversations sometimes. "Night everyone." Ashlynn mumbled, holding Luciano to her tightly, but not too tightly, as she let Jesse lead her upstairs. "Mmm, you smell good Jess."
He gave a small laugh, "Thanks?"
Ashlynn smiled sleepily. "Definitely a compliment."
"Well that's good then."
"Yeah… So, where am I crashing?"
"Where do you want to crash?"
"I'd really like to not be alone right now." She whispered softly.
"Alright, come on then." He said, leading her into his room.
"Thanks Jesse." She said softly as she laid Luciano in the middle of the bed before turning back to Jesse and wrapping her arms around him, silent tears beginning to fall down her face.
Jesse held her tight as tremors wracked through her body as she cried as the reality of everything sank in. "C'mon, let's get you in bed."
Ashlynn nodded, slipping her flip flops off and crawling into Jesse's bed, laying on her right side, her back to the door. Luciano snuggled close to her as Jesse shed his tshirt, leaving him in a wife beater top he changed into a pair of sweats before laying down on the other side of his bed, pulling the blanket up over the three of them.
"I love you Jesse," Ashlynn whispered to him sleepily.
He smiled softly. "I love you too Ashlynn."
When Ashlynn woke the next morning, Luciano wasn't between her and Jesse, or even in the room for that matter. She turned to Jesse groggily and nudged him.
"What's wrong babe?" He asked as he blinked up at her in concern.
"Jess, where's Luc?" She asked, worry lacing her voice.
"Mia took him downstairs about forty minutes ago." Jesse told her with a yawn. "I think he was up before that though, 'cause he was wide awake when Mia knocked on the door."
Yawning in response to Jesse's yawn, Ashlynn nodded and laid back down next to him. "How's it been since I was here?"
"Alright.." Jesse replied. "Usual stuff every day. Work, racing, partying sleeping, waking up and doing it all over again."
"I know the repetitive feeling." Ashlynn said with a smile, kissing Jesse softly.
"I'm liking the disruption of the repetitive life." He told her with a smile.
"Yeah, me too." She said, returning his smile. Giggling softly, slightly hysterically, as she added, "You know, except for having to take my son to the ER."
"Yeah, that's a definite downer…" Jesse said, wrapping his arms around Ashlynn, pulling her close. "You gonna be alright? You were pretty shook up last night."
"Yeah… I'm gonna be fine." She told him. "I just felt helpless, you know, I saw it happen, but it was like I couldn't move until after it happened. I hate feeling helpless like that."
"Yeah, it kinda sucks. A lot." Jesse said softly.
"Yeah." She mumbled with a soft laugh. "Mmm, I missed you."
"I missed you too."
The two laid together in silence, close to falling back to sleep when Jesse's door opened and Luciano shyly poked his head in.
"Mamma?" He called softly, unsure as to whether she was awake.
"Hmmm?"
"Auntie Venus keeps calling."
Groaning softly, Ashlynn pulled away from Jesse enough to roll onto her back and look at the door where Luciano was still standing, phone in hand.
"Alright, I'll call her Bambino." She said, holding her hand out towards him. "What are you and Mia up to?" She asked when he handed her the small phone.
"We're making pancakes!" The boy told her excitedly.
"Oh, is that so?"
"Yeah!"
"You know, those are Auntie V's favorite."
"I know."
Ashlynn smiled at the grin on Luciano's face. "You're turning into Venus, I swear it."
Luciano giggled before leaving, presumably to go back downstairs and help Mia. Ashlynn smiled again, turning her attention to her phone as it started to vibrate.
"Yes Venus?" She said as she answered.
"What have you been doing that you haven't been answering my phone calls for the last hour and a half?" Venus' voice came from the other end.
Ashlynn snorted, glancing over at Jesse with a grin that caused him to raise an eyebrow curiously. "I was having hot, passionate sex with Jesse, which you interrupted by repeatedly calling, causing Luc to bring my phone into Jesse's room."
She laughed at the disgusted screech her response was given. "EW! REALLY? YOU COULDN'T HAVE JUST SAID YOU WERE BUSY?"
"And you wouldn't have pestered me, asking what I was so busy with?" Ashlynn asked knowingly.
There was a long pause on the other end before she was dignified with an answer. "Alright, so I probably would have pestered until I had details, but you didn't have to just outright say it like that."
Ashlynn rolled her eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me."
"You don't know that I rolled my eyes."
"I know you Ash, I know you just rolled you eyes."
"Alright, I rolled my eyes. And, I was kidding about the sex. Seriously, what time is it?"
"Sure you were. It's almost eleven."
"I was kidding. I just woke up. Now, why have you been calling me for the last hour and a half?"
"Well, that would be because you asked my to keep you updated and Johnny got back about two hours or so ago. Dropped off by a police officer. And…" Venus trailed off and Ashlynn was sure the other girl was fidgeting.
"And what?"
"And I apologized and we talked for a few minutes and he kissed me!" Venus said, rushing through her sentence, making it sound like one word.
Ashlynn shot up, sitting straight. "Wait, WHAT?"
"No need to shit a brick Ash."
"No need?" Ashlynn asked her in disbelief. "You freaking APOLOGIZED, you never, never, never, ever, ever, ever, ever apologize unless you're being a sarcastic bitch. And he kissed you! That's a big deal!"
"It's not that big of a deal." Venus mumbled.
"Really?" Ashlynn drawled sarcastically. "When was the last time you dated V?"
"When we were seventeen."
"Exactly, three years ago V. You haven't let anyone who's flirted with you do more than just flirt. So you can't tell me that this isn't a big deal."
"S didn't make this big of a deal out of it."
Ashlynn sighed. "I feel like S is drifting away from us V. It's not the same as it used to be."
"I guess you're right."
"Anyways, how is he?"
"He's alright, seemed annoyed, pissed, you know, kinda how anyone would feel after being arrested for something they didn't do."
"Yeah, that's understandable."
"Yeah."
"So what's going on now?"
"I dunno… His family seems kinda on edge, though, SWAT did break their door down last night."
"Yeah… He better have called Dom, otherwise he's in a lot of trouble with me."
"I'm sure he'll tell Dom about how you're paying his debt off."
"Hopefully not that bluntly. Dom's not gonna take that news happily. At all."
"Then why tell him?"
"'Cause, he deserves to know. And not telling him that would make it so much worse, it would be like not telling you that I ate the last chocolate bar in the house."
"What the hell does chocolate have to do with this?"
"You know how you get when you really want chocolate, but there's none in the house?"
"Duh."
"Well, that's how Dom's going to react…sort of."
"Whatever."
"Anyways, I've got to get my happy ass out of Jesse's bed and down to the police station where I hope to find someone with a decent amount of brain cells."
Venus snorted. "Good luck with that."
"Thanks V." Ashlynn muttered sarcastically. "Hey, I need you to do me a favor."
"And what's that?"
"Well, I need some clothes for me and Luc."
"And?"
Ashlynn rolled her eyes. "And I need you to bring them here."
"Why can't you come pick them up?"
"'Cause Luc is helping Mia make pancakes."
"Pancakes?"
"Yes, pancakes."
"I like pancakes."
"I can maybe talk Mia into making some extra, if you bring clothes for me and Luc."
Venus paused. "Alright, what do you need?"
"Something public appropriate, and deodorant and shit. And my make up."
"Kay, text me the directions and I'll be there soon."
"Thanks V. I'll see you soon."
"Yeah, bye Ash."
"Bye V."
Immediately after she hung up, Ashlynn opened a text to Venus and went through the process of telling her how to get to the Toretto Fort.
"I guess that means we have to go downstairs now." Jesse said as he pushed himself up.
"Yeah, gotta let them know she's coming." Ashlynn mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched before standing up, Jesse slowly following her lead.
The two of them walked hand in hand down the stairs and into the kitchen where Mia, Luc, Vince, and Leon were. Mia and Luc were at the counter, making pancakes like Luciano had excitedly told Ashlynn while Vince and Leon sat nursing cups of coffee.
"Morning," Ashlynn said softly, gaining everyone's attention and earning her and Jesse mumbled responses from Vince and Leon. Ashlynn walked over to the counter where Mia was doing most of the actual breakfast making. "Hey, Mia, you got enough there to feed an extra person?"
"I should, why?" Mia asked, looking up at Ashlynn curiously.
"I had to bribe my friend to bring clothes for me and Luc so I can go down to the police station. And I made the mistake of mentioning that you and Luc were making pancakes. They're her favorite." Ashlynn said with a mock annoyed look that caused Mia to laugh.
"Yeah, alright, there should be enough."
"Enough for what?" Dom's voice asked from the doorway as he and Letty entered.
"For Venus, I had to bribe her to get her to bring me and Luc clothes." Ashlynn said, turning to look at Dom with a smile as she leaned back against Jesse. "She should be here in about twenty ish minutes."
"Tran's place is like forty or so minutes away." Dom said, eyebrow raised.
Ashlynn matched his raised eyebrow with one of her own. "When has that stopped anyone from speeding?"
Dom let out a laugh and sat himself down at the table. "I'll give you that one."
Ashlynn smiled, sitting on Jesse's lap when he sat down, and everyone slid into their normal routine, including Ashlynn and Luciano as if they had been there all along. It felt nice. And true to her word, about twenty minutes later there was an impatient pounding on the door, just as Mia finished making breakfast.
"That's your girl then?" Dom asked rhetorically.
"Haha, yeah, that's V alright." Ashlynn said as she slid off of Jesse's lap and padded to the front door. She smiled as she opened the door to let the shorter girl in. "Hey V. Thanks for bringing this stuff." She said as she set the bag down and hugged the girl, whispering in her ear. "When you sit down at the table, don't grab for the food first."
"Why?" Venus asked quietly.
"Trust me, just don't."
"Whatever."
Ashlynn laughed, "C'mon, let's introduce you to the team."
Venus let herself be led into the kitchen where Luciano practically squealed in delight at the sight of her and ran at her.
"Auntie Venus!" He cried, launching himself at her.
"Hey squirt!" She said as she caught him, frowning at the stitches on his forehead and the cast on his arm. "How you feeling?"
"I'm okay!"
"That's good. Had to say, I was pretty worried about you." She said, before claming up as she noticed six pairs of eyes on her as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Venus, I'd like you to meet my family," Ashlynn began before pointing to each of them as she introduced them. "That's Dom, his girlfriend Letty, Dom's best friend Vince, then there's Leon and Jesse, and Mia's getting breakfast on the table for us." Ashlynn looked at the team. "Guys, this is Venus."
There were looks and a few mumbled greetings exchanged, but Ashlynn could see by the looks on Venus', Dom's, and Vince's faces that there were most likely going to be issues. She watched the looks on the team's faces as looked at her friend with varying calculating looks.
Ashlynn walked back over to Jesse and motioned for Venus to sit in either of the empty chairs on either side of the boy as she perched herself back on his lap.
"I'd have been here five or so minutes ago, but that O'Conner guy pulled me over." Venus told Ashlynn.
"What for?" More than just Ashlynn asked the question, but Venus didn't pay anyone else any mind.
"He said to tell you that he'll see you at the station after noon." Venus told her as she walked towards the table.
"Alright." Ashlynn said with a nod.
"So, you're the one with the sick Acura RSX?" Leon asked, breaking the awkward silence as Venus sat herself in the chair between him and Jesse, putting her at Jesse's left.
"Yeah." Venus answered shortly, letting Luciano sit on her lap as she set her purse down on the floor next to her.
Conversation was stalled when Mia asked what everyone wanted to drink. She got various answers of coffee, milk, and orange juice from everyone but Venus.
"Venus?" Mia asked. "Do you want milk?"
Ashlynn let out a laugh and Venus glared at the dark redhead.
"What's so funny?" Letty asked from where she sat on Dom's lap, an eyebrow raised.
"I don't like milk. At all." Venus muttered. "And Ash likes to poke fun at me for it."
"Uhm, why?" Jesse asked, glancing between the redhead he had his arms wrapped around and the pixie haired girl to his left.
"Because, she's just like Edo-kun, soon enough we're gonna have to have her fitted for automail…Or, prosthetic limbs anyway." Ashlynn rambled as if they all knew what she was talking about.
"What are you going on about Baby Girl?" Vince asked, his face full of confusion.
"It's an anime show that we heard about last month and checked it out. It's pretty interesting. But that's besides the point." Ashlynn said.
"And what's the point?"
"I don't remember." Ashlynn said with a grin. "Though, I do have to get to the police station today, so eating would be good. Venus and I will have orange juice, Mia."
"Alright." Mia muttered as she put a pitcher of said juice on the table between the two girls and taking the empty seat between Jesse and Vince.
Breakfast was a somewhat quiet affair after Vince broke down and grabbed food first and said grace and then they all dug in. There was light conversation, but the tension was so thick you'd need a chainsaw to even chip away at it. Venus was tense, but was acting like it didn't bother her, because, to be brutally honest, it probably didn't, she didn't care what they thought of her. Beyond the fact that they were Ashlynn's family, they were just people and she never was one to care about other people's opinions of her. After everyone finished with breakfast, Ashlynn helped with dishes and even coerced Venus into drying them.
"There's something about that O'Conner guy you're not telling me Ash." Venus mumbled as they walked into the living room.
"You don't want to know and it shouldn't effect you, so don't worry about it right now." Ashlynn told her. "How's S?"
"S is… S, you know how she can be." Venus mumbled moodily.
"That's a fair point." Ashlynn muttered. "So, you gonna head back to Johnny's?"
"Yeah, probably go get a Lollicup and head back there." Venus replied as they passed the team, who had spread out in the living room, to get to the door.
"How is Tran?" Vince asked, his smugness palpable in the air.
Venus turned to look at Vince with a dark look. "Quite annoyed." She stated as Ashlynn tried to calm her down. "Then again, I would be too seeing as he was interrogated for hours when it should have been you guys." She glanced at Mia and, only be polite, said "Thank you for breakfast."
And with that, Venus was gone.
"You had to push buttons?" Ashlynn asked, turning back to Vince as Venus sped off.
"How does she know Ash?" Dom asked tensely.
"Doesn't take a genius to figure it out really. Vince is holding his upper body stiffly and has a slight limp, probably from jumping from vehicle to vehicle. And you're all moving sluggishly, probably from have to move all the merchandise quickly, that's gonna do some wear and tear damage." Ashlynn said matter-of-factly as she picked up the bag Venus had brought for her. "And you know what?"
"What?" Dom asked, his face blank as he stared at Ashlynn.
"There's a reason it was Johnny who was narc'ed on and not you guys." She told them before holding her hand out to Luciano. "Think about it Dom."
And with that, she led Luciano upstairs and into the bathroom and got a bath ready for him. When he was situated in the bathtub, Ashlynn told him that if he needed anything to call for her and left the bathroom door ajar and stepped out into the hallway where Dom was standing.
"When you said there was a reason for it, what were you talking about?" He asked gruffly.
"What do you think I was talking about Dom?"
"Don't play games with me, Ashlynn."
"I'm not playing games, Dominic."
"Who's O'Conner?"
"Who's Spilner?
"Are you trying to tell me you're right about him?"
"I'm trying to get you to think about it Dom. Police have been on your ass for how long now? You're always the first name they think of when they get a whiff of a street race going down. You're the first person they look to take down. There's a reason you weren't the ones with SWAT coming into your home."
"What reason Ash?"
"Are you really that thick?"
"Just tell me Ashlynn."
"Figure it out Dominic." She told him as Luciano called for her. She walked back into the bathroom.
"I'm done Mamma." He told her as she walked through the door.
"Alright Bambino." She said, crouching down and pulling a towel from under the sink as Luciano unplugged the tub. "Get dried off and dressed while I take a shower Bambino." She told him, pulling his clothes out of the bag for him.
Twenty minutes later, Ashlynn and Luciano were walking out of the bathroom and Dom was still standing in the hallway, but he looked like he was thinking. Ashlynn and Luciano walked down the stairs and to the living room where only Vince, Jesse, and Leon sat.
"The hell are you wearing?" Vince asked as he noticed her.
"Clothing Venus considers public appropriate." Ashlynn said as she looked down and the formfitting black camisole with a white v neck over it, dark blue denim skinny jeans that looked as if they were painted on, and white stilettos that had been in the bag.
"It's hot." Letty said as she walked into the room from the kitchen. "You better get them for what they did to him." She added, nodding at Luciano who was wearing khaki shorts, a tank top with a checkered button up over it and tennis shoes.
"Oh, don't worry." Ashlynn said sing-song-ishly, a grin on her face. "I will."
With that said, she grabbed her keys from the table by the door and kissed Jesse's cheek, waving to everyone else as she and Luciano walked out the door.
"Oh," She paused and turned around to look at Letty. "Dom's upstairs. Looks like he's thinking."
"Better get up there before something bad happens." Letty said playfully before heading up the stairs, beer in hand as Ashlynn shut the door behind her.
Once situated in the car, Ashlynn double checked the Luciano was buckled and looked through her purse to make sure all the medical records were there before she started the car and took off towards the Los Angeles Police Station. The fifteen to twenty minute drive there was silent and when they arrived, Luciano wouldn't let go of Ashlynn's hand once he was out of the car. When they entered the building, Luciano practically attached himself to Ashlynn's leg and she shifted her purse onto her left shoulder before picking him up and placing him on her right hip and she walked up to what appeared to be a receptionist desk.
"What can I do for you?" The woman behind the desk absentmindedly asked.
"I'm looking for an Officer O'Conner." She told the older woman as she pulled her sunglasses off.
"What am I telling him you're here for?" The woman asked.
"Don't worry about it Liz, I'm right here." He spoke as he walked up. Turning his attention to Ashlynn, he motioned for her to follow him and she did as he led her through a couple sets of doors before being led into a conference room where two men were sitting. The two men watched her warily as she took the seat Brian offered her.
"Thanks Brian." She mumbled, placing her purse on the table and resituating Luciano on her lap. He looked at Ashlynn and then Brian, confusion clear on the young boy's face. "It's alright Bambino."
"Ms. Toretto?" One of the two other men spoke, bringing her attention to them both.
"Ashlynn." She corrected. "Ms. Toretto makes me sound like my mother."
"Alright, Ashlynn," He paused, glancing down at a paper in front of him. "You are here because of what happened to your son."
The way he spoke made Ashlynn raise an eyebrow, "I'm sensing a 'but' is about to be interjected into that sentence."
"But we'd like to ask you a few questions about your cousin." The other man, he looked older, higher up.
"Mmm, I see." She said coolly. "Well, then let's talk, first, we're going to address the fact that not only did your SWAT officers scare my son, one of them ripped him away from Johnny and dislocated his arm, as well as caused a hairline fracture in his forearm, and you'll notice the stitches on his forehead from where his head hit the ground." She paused and reached into her purse and pulled out the fill the doctor had given her and handed it to Brian. "And since I'm sure you'll want evidence of that, there it is, complete with x-rays showing the dislocation and fracture."
"And what would you like us to do about that?" The older of the two asked her condescendingly as Brian handed the folder over to the first man that had spoken to her after he'd looked through the folder.
"Well, first, don't talk to me like that. I may be younger than you, but you don't need to talk to me like I don't understand what's going on." Ashlynn stated calmly. "Second, you're going to find whichever one of your officers, I assume they're yours, since you seem to be the Fed here, and he's going to pay the medical bill or I'm going to sue him for more than just the medical bill. And if you don't find the officer that did it, I'm just going to sue the whole department, because, well, for one, I don't really like you guys, second, my son was a scared four year old, and third, that scared four year old was injured by one off your officers and you didn't do anything about it."
"This is a bunch of bullshit."
"Bilkins!" The other guy snapped.
"What Sergeant Tanner?" The man, Bilkins, snapped.
"I'd like to ask you to refrain from using that kind of language in front of my son." Ashlynn spoke calmly, but her eyes were ablaze with anger.
"I'm sorry about him," Sergeant Tanner apologized.
Ashlynn nodded, not taking her eyes off of Bilkins.
"Tell us what you know about your cousin." Bilkins demanded.
"Find the officer that hurt my son." Ashlynn leveled back.
Sergeant Tanner cut in before Bilkins would speak. "We'll get on that, but for now, could you tell us about your cousin. Please?"
"I'll answer what I can of your questions, but the man that hurt my son had better be found." Ashlynn said, shifting her gaze to Tanner.
"You can't prove that one of my officers did that!" Bilkins accused, drawing Ashlynn's gaze back to him.
"Sure I can."
"Really."
"Oh yes."
"And how is that."
"Because," She paused, but apparently Bilkins didn't like that.
"Because what?"
"Impatient much?"
"Answer the question."
Ashlynn leaned forward conspiratorially, mindful of her son, her voice dropping dangerously low. "Because, O'Conner over here was there." She sat back in her chair, looking over at Brian. "Or should I call you Spilner, go along with this charade?"
Brian chuckled, but Bilkins didn't understand what was so funny. "What are you laughing at? She knows your cover, she could just be blackmailing you into saying you were there."
It was Ashlynn's turn to laugh. "But we all know I'm not blackmailing him because we all know he was there." She said in a sing-song voice. She turned her attention back to Tanner. "What would you like to know about Dominic Toretto?" She asked him.
"Do you know what he's doing? What he's involved in?" Tanner asked her patiently.
"Uh, getting ready for Race Wars." Ashlynn said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, that is tomorrow, right?"
"What do you know about the truck heists?" Bilkins snapped.
"Ha, you're funny if you think my cousin is behind that. He might be thick headed, but he's not an idiot." Ashlynn lied smoothly. "He's all about family, if something would hurt that family, if something could break the family, he'd gladly walk away with his tail between his legs."
"And what do you know about the illegal street racing?" Tanner asked calmly.
"That a lot of people do it." She said matter-of-factly.
"And about his time in Lompoc?"
"He doesn't like talking about his time inside."
"We're aware that you've been keeping correspondence with the entire gang for the-"
"Team," She interrupted. "They're a team. Not a gang."
Tanner looked confused.
"There's a difference; Team means family, you look out for each other, help each other, gang means everyone for themselves, you look out for yourself and not one else."
"Alright, you've kept up correspondence with the…team for the last month. Is that correct?" Tanner asked.
"One hundred percent correct." Ashlynn said as she stroked her son's hair as he fidgeted.
"What did you talk about?"
"The longer conversations were mostly with Dom, reminiscing about the past, or Jesse, I listen to him talk about schematics for hours." She said, a small smile on her face. "Most of the conversations were about them coming up to visit me at my home after Race Wars."
"What for?" Bilkins interjected.
"I haven't seen my family since I was about nine when my mother annoyed my father into moving just so she'd shut up about it. I haven't talked to them since I said good-bye. Why do you think I want them to visit." Ashlynn said, her voice calm, but the venom still there.
"And the phone calls with Tran?"
"No one knows, but we were all great friends before I was dragged away. I reminisce with him about the good times. His family loved to have me over whenever I wasn't hiding out at Dom's." Ashlynn told them.
"And what do you know about this debt that your cousin has with the Trans?" Tanner asked.
"That I'm paying it off." She murmured, causing Brian to laugh.
"Does Dom know that?" He asked, gaining a glare from Bilkins.
"Ha, not yeeet." She said. "He's not gonna be happy about it, but he can deal."
"Why won't he be happy?" Bilkins asked.
Ashlynn raised an eyebrow. "You've been watching my cousin for who knows how long, and you haven't realized that he's a very proud person. Paying this debt off is going to bruise his pride, not something he takes very well." No one spoke for a few minutes and Ashlynn rolled her eyes. "So, if you're done with your questions, I'll be taking my son's medical file back and be leaving now. I expect to hear that you figure out which guy is paying my son's hospital bill."
"I think we're done," Bilkins said. "For now."
"That wasn't very dramatic, if that's what you were going for." Ashlynn muttered as she set Luciano down on the floor and stood, stretching her hip with a wince.
"You alright?" Tanner asked her.
"Ha, yeah, wouldn't you know that the one time I'm out with the horses, I get a call and the sound is still on, spooks the horse and I don't move out of the way fast enough." She said with a slightly amused, but tight smile.
"So what happened to your face?" Bilkins asked, an eyebrow raised.
"I pissed off my ex-boyfriend." She said shortly. "Apparently he's got a shorter fuse than he used to… Though, telling him that he wasn't anything more than a faceless sperm donor was probably going a little far." She continued as she grabbed her son's medical file and put it back in her purse.
"And you didn't file a domestic abuse report?" Bilkins asked skeptically.
"Ah, that would be a no. There's no point." She said as she picked her son up. "And it's none of your business. So, ta."
And with that, she left the room and Brian followed her.
"How long have you known?" He asked.
"Since I met you I've had a hunch, but like Dom says, my hunches are hardly ever wrong." She replied.
"Does Dom know."
"Dom knows."
"And he hasn't killed me?"
"I may have been a voice of reason."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a reason you told them it was Johnny." She told him. "You don't want it to be Dom."
"But it is." He murmured softly.
"Yes. And he's pissed, but the rest of the team doesn't know."
"But I should be careful."
"Very careful." She said as they reached the lobby. "I expect to see you at Race Wars."
And before he could say anything, she was out the door, putting her sunglasses back on.