A/N: Thanks to AllieKat21, -JiLlIaN0sHAkItA-, littleone999, Lou14, my shangri-la, Trickster707, lady4feet, xXBXx, tanya2byour21, phoenixfire44, 1morning glory1, AnimusPatronus, BubblesScream, Ashes2Dust18, ILoveAnime89, Aerianna Lupin & Leon's Angel for their reviews, sorry if I missed anyone, and thanks to all the favs and alerts. I hope some of you guys are still around after all this time!

I don't normally like to whine a long list of excuses for not posting, but two years is a hell of a while, and I honestly wouldn't blame you guys for hating me, so I feel like I should explain...

The last two years have kind of been crazy for me, and not in a good way. My mom had to have major emergency surgery at the start of '11, and more surgery again this year. She's okay now, but she had a long recovery both times, and I've been the one looking after her. In between, I was also dealing with builders on a job that was supposed to take six to eight weeks but ended taking over six months – not counting the builder moving to Australia before everything was 100% finished. Uni at least has been good, though a lot heavier workload that I'm used to. I won't pretend there haven't been moments when I've had time to sit and write, but I've had zero muse at all. Not just for this, but for all my fanfics, and all my originals. No pulse, break out the shovels dead muse.

But it finally feels like things are turning around for me, like I'm getting back on track, and getting me some muse action, too. I've decided to work on just this fic for now, though I still plan on finishing the others, I promise.

So here I give you the next chapter of Second Chances, with more to come. And as a special apology (and because it needed one anyway) a spiffy cover image. I tried to make it look similar to the poster for the first movie, and I chose Natalie Martinez for Rae's pb. She wasn't really what I was thinking of when I started this story, but I like her, she looks like she could have a little Chinese in her genes (even though I don't think she does) and she has a nice mix of sweet and kick-ass that I think suits Rae's personality. My second choice was Shay Maria, but I decided while she might look more like I'd pictured Rae, she was a little too young, and a little too...racy XD Either way, I think the cover turned out pretty good.

Much love to you all, and again I promise I will NEVER just give up a story...even if it takes me forever.

Review and enjoy!

"Damn, I can't believe I ever thought this was a bad idea," Rae remarked.

"Mmmmhmmm."

"Mia, you're a genius, you know that? An evil, awesome genius."

"Mmmmhmmm," Mia repeated.

Three women let out a happy sigh, and silence reigned once again, broken only by the sound of hammers sinking nails into wood. Mia, Letty and Rae were perched against a rickety old table, taking time off from their own duties to admire the view as the guys worked on repairing the wooden siding. It wasn't so much the actual work, more the fact that they'd all removed their shirts in the California heat. Five half naked, sweaty, hard working men...yeah, it was a hell of a show.

"Damn," Letty sighed, finally joining in. "We should get them to do some work at the Fort, too."

"God yes," Rae agreed with enthusiasm.

"Feeling a little flustered there, cuz?" Letty asked with a smirk, eyes not moving from the men.

"As the only one here not getting any, and being unrelated to any of them, that would be a resounding hell yes. 'scuse me for getting my kicks where I can," Rae replied unabashedly.

"Well I'm sure Vince wouldn't mind helping you with that first thing," Mia teased, getting a wince from Rae.

Letty glanced at her cousin before being drawn back to Dom's large form. "So you two are...?"

"We're not anything. We never were," Rae frowned, her eyes drawn to the man in question. His scars stood stark against his skin, but the healing flesh didn't bother her. Scars were something she could relate to.

"Sure," Letty replied sarcastically. "And you have a kid together because you, what? Bumped into each other really hard?"

"Fuck you."

"No, him."

"Letty..."

"Not like I get what you see in him, I mean...he's Vince. But clearly he did something right."

"What, you angling for a blow-by-blow or something?"

"Oh hell no. Forget I mentioned it," Letty shuddered. Rae just smirked and turned back to eyeballing all the hunky man-flesh displayed before her.

"Damn, it's hot today," Vince sighed, practically falling into one of the folding chairs set up for lunch, a ice cold beer in hand.

"Yeah, that's what we were saying," Mia replied, an odd look on her face. A second later she, Letty and Rae burst out laughing. Vince looked at the other guys in question, but they just shrugged, looking as lost as he felt.

"Whatever," he muttered, taking a swig as Leon dug around in the cooler and tossed out sandwiches at random. "So how's it going?"

Rae grinned and relaxed back. "Pretty good, we've got most of the sanding done on the front porch; we should be able to start painting soon."

"Yeah, if you ever decide on colors," Letty muttered.

"I have...ideas," Rae defended.

"Ideas aren't gonna go buy paint tins, Rae," the older cousin remarked.

"Bite me. I'm an artist, I have a process," Rae sniffed, flipping her hair and ruining her superior posturing by grinning and sticking her tongue out at Letty. "How about the siding?" she asked, turning her attention back to them.

"Good," Vince answered before taking a big bite of his turkey sandwich.

Rae just looked at him for a moment then rolled her eyes and turned to the other guys. "Translate please?"

Leon chuckled, even though he looked half asleep. "It's going well, we got about half of one side done, we should be able to finish the rest of it today."

"Yeah, we can probably get two sides done this weekend. I think we can probably swing some more during the week after the garage closes, but it might be better to save the rest of the siding until next weekend, do smaller jobs in the meantime," Brian added.

"Give a white boy a hammer and he thinks he'd a professional," Roman teased.

"Hey, fuck you bro,' Brian defended, shoving his friend with his shoulder and grinning.

Rae shook her head. "I appreciate you guys helping, but you don't have to spend all your free time working on the house."

Vince gave her a look just as his cell began to ring, and not recognizing the number, he stepped away from the table to answer it.

"Vince Martelli," he greeted.

"Mr. Martelli? I'm Doctor Hoffman, I work at Good Samaritan? It's about your father," the woman's voice answered.

"What else are we gonna do? As long as things get wrapped up at the garage, we might as well help out here. It needs to be done. You guys can't move in until at least the basics are done, and it gives..."

Vince was silent for a moment, for a whole lot of reasons, and went around the side of the house where the others couldn't hear, Dom rumble fading into the background. "What about him?"

"He's sick, Mr. Martelli, and I—"

"That's great," Vince growled. "I don't really care."

"But Mr. Martelli, surely—"

"The guy beat the crap out of me and my mom on a regular basis before he had the good sense to disappear. If you're lookin' for someone to come down and hold his hand while he gets better, I'm not your man."

There was an awkward pause as the doc cleared her throat. "I'm not sure you understand, Mr. Martelli. You father has stage four liver cancer. It's metastasized, which means it's spread to other parts of his body. He's also in renal failure. Your father is dying, there's nothing we can do. He doesn't have long left. You're the only next of kin we could find."

"Fine," Vince replied woodenly, before hanging up. Then he just stared at the phone as he tried to wrap his head around what was going on.

No, it didn't matter. His father was long gone from his life, and good riddance.

Shoving his cell back into his pocket, he pushed his hand through his hair and tried to wipe the frown from his face before rejoining the others.

"...have to choose what room you want," Rae pointed at Mia as Vince retook his seat and took a big pull on his beer. "So we can get them done first. Other than the kitchen, the others can wait."

"What? It's your house," Mia blinked.

"So? You're moving in. I'm taking the master, and Bella's gonna have the attic room once it's converted. That leaves three bedrooms unoccupied, and I don't mind which you take," she shrugged.

"Oh," Mia blinked again, then smiled. "Well I'll take a look and let you know."

"Everything okay?" Rae asked casually, and it took Vince a moment to realize she was talking to him.

"Fine. Peachy."

"Uh-huh."

"It's nothing, Rae," he snapped, instantly regretting it. He saw the anger flash in her eyes, and the single raised brow was signal enough that he needed to get a grip. "I'm fine," he added more calmly.

"Whatever," she snarked, turning away and effectively dismissing him.

He wanted to reach across the table and throttle her.

Why the hell did she always have to bug him when he wanted to be left alone? Make him want her when he couldn't have her? It was like the woman was programmed to drive him crazy. And now she was all pissy because he didn't want to spill his guts over one stupid, irrelevant, unimportant phone call.

He found himself glaring at his almost empty bottle as the others enjoyed the relaxed lunchtime, his thoughts grumbling around in the back of his mind until Jesse's shaky voice broke through the din.

"Uh, guys? Guys? I uh..." he cleared his throat and picked at the arm of his wheelchair. "I wanted to say something."

They all quietened down, Leon and Letty slapping playfully at each other before they all turned to Jesse expectantly. Even Vince was pulled out of his glowering, since Jesse wasn't usually one for grand speeches.

"So my physio has been going well—"

"Woot!" Leon crowed, causing them all to grin.

"And well, the doc things I can start getting out of this thing outside of the hospital. Just a little at first, but—"

He was cut off as they all started piling on him, raining down hugs and slaps on the back in congratulations.

"Jesse, that is outstanding," Dom grinned as they settled down. "And, well," he looked at Vince, who nodded on his own grin. "You all know we've been working to getting a couple cars ready for the Races." There were nods around the table, and a few puzzled looks. "Well we're still a few weeks from being ready, but we were planning to wait until you could come," he lifted his glass to the younger man. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

There was an 'awww' from Mia, and Jesse looked a little taken back from the compliment before gathering himself. "No way you're waiting for me! I'll be there, even if I have to out wheel the cops in this beast!" he grinned, slapping the side of his chair.

"Hey dude, we could fix some NOS boosters to the back," Leon laughed.

"Hell yeah!" Jesse exclaimed, eyes bright. "Man, I bet I could even out-race Dom with the right parts."

"Watch it," Dom scolded, taking a playful swipe at Jesse before joining in.

Vince couldn't help chuckling as he watch his friends – no, his family teasing one another around their excitement for the Races. Yeah, they were his family, the only family he needed.

"So he gets out in a couple of weeks," Jesse was explaining to Roman as they stared at the screen, frantically hitting buttons. "I haven't talked to him much since I got out of the hospital, it's hard when I can't go and visit. I haven't told him about his Jetta, yet."

"Don't stress, cuz. Your pops will just be happy you're okay. And to be out."

"Rome's right," Leon agreed from the couch beside them. "Even if he is a controller hog."

Mia and Rae stepped over the wrestling guys as they made their way to the dining room where Letty and Dom were dishing out take-out and Brian was setting out beers for everyone.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late, Bella was being fussy with Vince," Rae grinned, far from sorry.

"Could you look less pleased?" Letty smirked.

"Hell no. She's been so sweet with him, it was starting to piss me off. It's about time he saw the Dark Side," Rae chuckled.

Vince had been spending more time with Ella recently, his idea, even acting as babysitter once or twice. Tonight he'd skipped out on dinner, which was a little weird, but the girls were planning on hitting the clubs after and he'd volunteered to look after his daughter, so Rae wasn't going to look a gift coyote in the mouth.

"So Jesse's dad is getting out soon?" Mia asked, lowering her voice a little as she looked at her brother.

His mouth flattened to a grim line, and he nodded. "Providing his parole hearing goes well, which looks likely."

"Am I missing something?" Rae asked, looking between them. "I never met his dad, I just heard what happened after. And how much Jesse idolizes him."

"Got caught skimming money off his client's books, yeah," Letty nodded.

"Before I was pissed at the guy. Made a stupid move, left Jesse with no-one. But now I guess most of us have lost the moral high-ground there," he sighed. "He might need to stay here until he gets back on his feet. I'll let him for Jesse, but only if he's going straight. The kid's been through a lot, I'm not going to let his father bring him down again."

They all nodded in agreement. Hell, he may have only been a year younger than Mia and Rae, but there was something about him that made them all feel protective, and it had nothing to do with the chair. He'd always had a sweetness about him, despite the crazy shit they'd all done, and none of them would let anyone hurt him. Even his own father.

They were all well into their second helpings when Dom's cell rang for the second time in two minutes.

"Damn it Hector, this better be important, I'm having dinner," Dom growled.

He went silent.

His face became a perfect mask of nothing, a sure sign he was on his way to pissed off.

"Thanks man, I'll be right over."

He snapped shut the phone and slammed his fist down on the table. "Rae, you need to go get Vince, tell him to meet us at the Cafe."

Rae nodded, but Mia pushed further. "What, Dom?" she demanded, panic edging her voice.

Dom was silent for a moment, then rolled his shoulders like he was shaking off his anger. "There's been a break-in."

Vince pulled up outside, trying not to feel instantly guilty at the sight of the flashing police lights. Rae gave his hand a squeeze before she slipped out of the car, getting her - their - daughter from the back. He'd told her to stay put, but she'd insisted on coming.

He pushed past the cops toward Dom. "What happened, man? Rae said there was a break-in..."

He trailed off as he got a look at the storefront. Someone had pried open one of the garage doors, and beyond was carnage. The tables were smashed, nothing remained on the shelves. Packets of food were torn open, chips crunching under the feet of the plain clothes officer that exited towards them.

"Mr. Toretto? I'm Detective Callaghan. O'Connor," the man greeted with a nod. O'Connor nodded back, so Vince figured Callaghan might not be a total prick. "We've had a look through, as far fingerprints go, the thieves used gloves, so we won't be able to get an ID from that, I'm afraid. It mostly seems to be cosmetic damage, other than the stock destruction and the door where they entered. You say there was only a small amount in the safe?"

Dom nodded, his thick arms crossed over his chest. "My sister took the cash to the bank earlier yesterday. All that was there was a few hundred from the register."

"Lucky, then. We can write a report for insurance, you shouldn't have a problem with that from our side, this looks like a straight forward smash and grab," Callaghan replied, looking down at his notes. "Without any witnesses however, it's unlikely we'll find the suspects, since all they took was cash. You say the friend that called you didn't see anyone?"

"No, he was heading out for the night and saw the door open, figured I might want to know."

Callaghan nodded again. "Well let me know if you think of anything else," he finished. "O'Connor knows how to find me."

With that, the detective left, and not long after the rest of the horse-and-pony show followed, leaving them with the wrecked store. Mia was crying, and Rae, carrying Ella, gave her an awkward one-handed hug before Brain took over.

They picked through the stock in silence for a while trying to salvage what was left.

"This is pointless," Dome snapped. "It's all destroyed. We'll have to dump it all, reorder."

They stood in silence.

"Bullshit this was just random. This place is totalled," Letty growled, her lip curving in a snarl.

There was a loud clang as Dom punched the broken garage door with force, letting out the anger that had been boiling in him. "She's right. No way this wasn't personal. The place is trashed, top to bottom."

"Hector?" Leon asked with a growl.

"I doubt it," Brian offered. "If he wanted to screw you guys over, he could have just refused to help Alex. That would have done a hell of a lot more damage than this."

"Hector has no reason," Vince added. "Yeah, he's a rival at the Races, but he's a friend, always has been."

"Plus, he'd have to be pretty dumb to call you himself to let you know," Rae added, bouncing a wide-eyed Ella on her hip.

"Not Hector," Dom agreed. "But there are a lot of people who'd want to screw us over," he sighed, rubbing his hands over his shaved head. "We're not going to figure it out tonight, and it's getting late. Let's get this place clear up and go home. We'll ask around tomorrow, see if anyone knows anything more."

They nodded, and Mia went over to hug her brother. "What about here?"

"Don't worry sis. We'll fix it. It'll just take time."