Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: The girls laughed and turned back towards the campsites. It was obvious Mia was feeling better even though neither she nor Letty had been much help. Maybe she'd call Brian; maybe she'd suck it up and move on. But for now, they walked back to camp arm in arm ready for whatever crazy adventure awaited them that night.

Chapter Twenty

Monday morning came much too early for Shorty. She could still fill the lingering hangover from Saturday's wild night. She hadn't expected to get as rowdy as she had but Mia needed a good night and she and Letty had risen to the occasion. She'd heard stories of the night but she couldn't remember a thing past the eighth or ninth shot of tequila.

Rising gingerly from bed she stopped in front of her bathroom mirror and raised the shirt off her torso. Her left side was bruised and slightly swollen. When she breathed too deeply violent spasms of pain rocked her. She wished she had received the injury a little more legitimately, instead of falling off the roof of Mia's trailer and landing on the barbeque below. Miguel had told her she had turned too quickly to answer Letty and tumbled off. Luckily the barbeque had been there to break her fall or surely she would have cracked open her skull.

Apparently when Hector returned to camp that night and found her, stretched out on a blow up mattress next to the fire with icepacks covering her rib cage, he had lost it. He was literally wagging his finger and shouting at her in Spanish. She had sat there and giggled through the entire ordeal, something he had not let her forget when they were loading up Sunday afternoon. His lectured had dragged on and on and finally Shorty had stomped her foot childishly and shouted, "Encontrar su paciencia antes de que pierdo la mina esé" before storming away. (Find your patience before I lose mine esé.)

Hector hadn't mentioned it since and she had been thankful. Not only had she lost to Vince over the weekend but she had further embarrassed herself by falling off a trailer. Her team was never going to take her anywhere again.

She dressed quickly and grabbed her keys before following the rest of the team to the garage. The day was incredibly easy compared to the weeks leading to Race Wars. She had only one vehicle to tune that day and by eleven she had completed her checklist and parked the van outside. She left a message for the young woman who showed up shortly before lunch dragging two screaming children behind her.

Shorty grimaced as the screams rose to decibels only reached by such an immature vocal box. She was thankful when the lady pulled out of their lot, an apologetic smile on her face. "Fuckin' brats," Shorty grunted as she grabbed another icepack from the freezer and placed it on her ribs. She swallowed back three Advil and reclined in a chair watching her team goof off.

Considering the business they had before Race Wars she would be surprised if they could pay their bills in a few months. After such a big event clients dried up quickly and the team would be forced to use their winnings to pay the mortgage on the garage and house until closer to the Christmas holidays when business would boom again.

"How's the ribs mamacita?" Pedro asked as he pulled up a stool beside her and sat.

"Been better," she grinned at him. She may have been hurting but she knew she would heal and she'd been through much worse a few weeks before. A few cracked ribs wasn't going to ruin her day.

"You gonna stick around for the rest of the day?"

"Nah, not unless Hector's got me something to work on," Shorty replied. She still had a couple drawings, ordered during Race Wars, that she could work on but she would rather do them at home. The urge to lounge around the pool and relax was growing with every minute and finally she stood and walked into the back office where Hector was bent over bills.

"Hey Hec, you think I can take off? I'm done," she asked.

Hector looked up from his paperwork and scratched the bridge of his nose absently. She could see the wheels in his head turning trying to think of anything else needing to be accomplished that day. Coming up with nothing he shrugged his shoulders, "Sure, get lost. Take the lil' homies with you, I've got nothing for them to do either."

Shorty stepped around the desk and dropped a kiss onto her brother's sweaty scalp and skipped from the office before he could change his mind. She motioned for Pedro to follow her outside and shouted "Yo Miguel! Boss man says we can bounce."

"Si?" he grinned while wiping his filthy hands on an even filthier rag.

"Si. Empanada's at The Hut?"

"Yeah, let me get my shit and I'll meet you there," he said and tossed his dirty rag into a small laundry basket resting near their lockers.

Shorty and Pedro each slid into their cars and drove to the beach. She pulled in beside Pedro and the two teammates claimed a table on the patio overlooking the surf. The beach was bumper to bumper with people on towels and playing volleyball. The smell in the small restaurant always made Shorty feel like she was four again, sitting on a phone book trying to reach her sandy hands into the food. Her mother had always been one hell of a cook and beside's her family this was the only place she could find authentic Mexican cuisine.

"What can I get for you?" a petite blond asked when she brought the two of them menu's.

"Three Corona's please. We're still waitin' on someone else," Pedro answered.

The waitress nodded and wandered off to get their drinks. They were still looking over the menu when Miguel sat beside them and reached for his beer taking a deep gulp. Shorty looked both her boys over and couldn't help but recognize the tired sag of shoulders and bags under their eyes. The weekend always took a lot out of her team. When she was still living in New York she remembered not hearing from them for days after Race Wars while they recovered.

"What're you getting?" Miguel asked her.

"Chicken empanada's with a side of extra spicy guacamole," Shorty answered as she stared out at the Ocean. It was blistering hot again and she was considering a swim as soon as they got back to the fort.

"That's disgusting."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you ain't eatin' it."

Their lunch passed much the same as usual, with occasional jokes and lots of bickering. One thing Shorty loved about her family was the ability to constantly bicker amongst themselves but never went past that. She and Hector had been brought up in a Latin house and they had experienced the Latin heat first hand. Their parents could bicker for hours and all it took was a sultry glance from their mother and their father forgot what their argument had even been about. Without meaning to Shorty and Hector had carried on the one tradition that most families despised.

When the boys finally finished their last beer Shorty stood and dropped enough cash for the bill before following Miguel and Pedro to their cars. She was content to go back and lounge around the pool or even go for a quick skateboard. "What do you wanna do?" Pedro asked.

Shrugging her shoulders she leaned through the open window of her car and rummaged through her glove box. Pulling a cherry sucker from the wrapper she popped it in her mouth and waited while the boys fought over the afternoon plans. She didn't understand why they didn't just go home and sleep, their exhaustion was so apparent. Race Wars may be over but there was no sleep for the wicked. In a few days they'd be back street racing and partying until the early dawn. Catching up on their lost sleep would make the weekend a whole lot more exciting.

"I'm goin' home, vato. Maybe lie by the pool," she said as she walked around the nose of her car and slid behind the wheel. There was no need to ask what their plans were now, she knew they would follow her home.

When they returned home they found Marvin asleep in his lazy boy recliner and they tiptoed past to their own rooms. Shorty descended the stairs and grabbed her skateboard from her closet. She quietly snuck past Marvin and slipped out the door. With no idea where to go she put her ear buds in her ears and jumped on her skateboard. The glistening moisture on her skin dried quickly as she built up speed and before she realized where she was going she was pulling to a stop outside the Toretto's garage a few blocks away.

Shorty popped her skateboard into her hand and pulled the ear buds from her ears. She entered the garage and frowned at the silence. She walked around admiring the cars before sneaking a look into the office. It was as empty as the rest of the shop. Just as she was turning to leave loud Spanish music filled the garage. She followed the sound out the side door and around the back until she found ome of the team, all in states of undress. Letty was in the center of the back lot her hips swaying in beat to the music. She was trying to force Dom's hips into the same movement as hers with her hands and failing poorly. Shorty had seen the dance a thousand times but never a man as large as Dom attempting to learn. She smiled at the happy couple and moved to where Vince was leaning back on a beat up couch, face turned to the sky and eyes closed.

She fell onto the couch with a huff startling him, "Where's Leon and Jess?"

"They went to the horse races," he answered closing his eyes again.

"That sounds... thrilling. Wanna bounce before the clothes come off?" Shorty asked gesturing at the couple gyrating in front of them.

A/N: I know it's short, don't hate. I've found my motivation to write – gone, as of late. Shout out's to iDriveLike-a-Vampire, lady-kira6606, LEXA14, wanna-bearockstar, raut1903, CheshireCat2012, dianabfatf, and Reader28 for the favorites and alerts. Thanks also go to Alez, bizchelc, and Love Ink for the reviews. You three keep me going!

Please review. Cheers!