Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: He was sleeping peacefully in her arms. She smiled down at him as his face crinkled in his sleep and she realized she finally made something worthwhile. Her drawings and her car where the only important things she'd ever made, save for Brer. Once the initial shock of her pregnancy wore off, she knew her team would feel the same way. And she couldn't wait for that moment.

Chapter Thirty Five

Getting the main house ready for the majority of her team was an ordeal in and of itself. Spence had two extra guest rooms with king sized beds and Shorty decided to put the lil' homies in one room while Beto and Marvin would take the other. She knew her very masculine team would have a problem sharing a bed with another man, but frankly, she could care less. Their ten day long vacation was completely free and they'd suck it up or some of them would be sleeping on the floor. Hector was sleeping in her bed and she'd moved a small cot into Brer's room so she could be close to him in the night.

Shorty wanted to pick her family up from the airport but when it came time for her to leave Brer with Spence and Jamie; she couldn't manage to tear herself away from him. As a mother herself, Jamie understood the irrational fear of leaving your child behind and she 'voluntold' Spence to pick up her crew. She was ecstatic when he accepted but wished she could see the look on Hector's face when Spence greeted them.

Besides keeping Brer a secret, she still hadn't explained to Hector whom she was staying with. He knew she was living in Mexico but had no idea who the generous people were, that had given her shelter. Whatever qualms Hector had about Spence and his crew before, he'd have to surrender them now. After all that they'd done for her in the past three months she figured he'd get over it pretty quick.

"I come?" Kennedy asked, as she spied Spence scooping his keys out of the bowl.

"There's no room for you, Princess. I promise we can go for a ride tomorrow for ice cream. How does that sound?" Spence asked, and pressed a kiss into his daughter's soft hair.

"Ice cream! Rer come too!"

"Brer can't eat ice cream yet."

Spence ruffled Kennedy's hair and left the house. It would take just over an hour for her team to arrive at the house. Shorty had just enough time to help Jamie prep for the barbeque and feed Brer before the team burst through the door. She formed the burger patties quickly while Jamie arranged the fixings on a long platter. It was an easy meal and she would have preferred something more time consuming. The men always appreciated a good cookout, but instead of focusing on small details, her anxiety level's rose every time she glanced at the clock. The closer they got to her the more she realized keeping Brer a secret was probably a huge mistake. She was a mother now but that didn't mean Hector wouldn't put her in her place.

When she heard four vehicle doors slam she couldn't help but glance quickly at Jamie before dashing for the front door. As anxious as she was she was also excited to see the men she'd grown up with, most of all Hector. She slammed through the screen door, Banjo hot on her heels, and sprinted down the steps and straight for her favorite bald man. She could see the wide grin on his face as she launched herself into his arms and clutched at him desperately. Even when she'd lived in New York she'd never missed him as much as she had the past seven months. The time when she truly needed the big brother to promise her the world and he wasn't there.

"Baby girl," he choked out as he hugged her tightly. "God, I missed you."

Unable to find a steady voice she just nodded as he held her at arm's length before pulling her against his chest again. He smelled as he always did and she found comfort in the fact that some things never change. When he finally released her she stepped back and was swallowed in hug after hug from the rest of her family. She could tell they were uncertain about her appearance but were unsure how to broach the subject of her body change.

Banjo growled loudly from the steps where he'd slid to a stop and she turned to quiet him, "Enough!" He lowered his head in shame but came when she crouched down for him. "This is Banjo, he's a little over protective. Aren't you, boy?" she asked, and stood again, facing her team.

"You got fat," Pedro responded, gaping at the visible pudge in her fitted t-shirt.

"About that," she started, as Jamie stepped through the screen door, Brer in her arms and Kennedy with an arm wrapped around her leg.

"I should have known you'd hook up with Spence again. You never could stay out of trouble," Hector said, and looked at the small family standing on the deck. "Jamie, right?" he asked, and she nodded her response.

Spence led the way back to the deck with Shorty bringing up the rear with Hector, his arm around her waist. When they crowded onto the porch Miguel bent down to Kennedy's level and smiled, "Hi, my name's Miguel. What's yours?"

"Kennedy," she answered and buried her face in her mother's kneecaps.

"Nice to meet you, Kennedy," Miguel replied, standing to his full height again and looking down at the tiny baby boy in Jamie's arms. "And who's this?"

Shorty knew the time had come for her to tell them. Without a doubt the minute she said Brer was hers, they'd put two and two together. With that information Hector was likely to hop on the next flight home and kill Leon. Stepping around her team she took the baby into her arms and turned back to face the men head on.

Before she could utter a word she saw Hector's eyes light up with understanding. He stepped forward and peered down at the sleeping infant and back up at her, "This is Brer, my son."

Three jaws dropped open simultaneously followed by Beto's duffle bag landing loudly on the porch. They stared at her, wide eyed, mouth gaping open, and she wondered if she should say something to break the awkward moment. She wished she could understand how they were feeling but it was impossible. How could she know? These men had never left her behind. The five men in front of her would never abandon her like she'd done to them. But she thought maybe it was a lot of hurt and a little of betrayal with a smidgen of shock mixed in.

A loud shudder sounded and Shorty glanced over her shoulder to find Jamie grinning as she examined the picture she'd captured. "This one'll be great in Brer's baby album," she laughed.

With her contagious laughter Miguel snapped his mouth shut and then grinned, "Damn."

"Language," Shorty said.

The audacity of Shorty's warning broke the spell Hector seemed to have fallen under, "My. Nephew?" His question was uncertain, like he couldn't believe what was right in front of him. She knew it would take him a while to process it fully, but she wanted him to be okay with it now.

"Sí, él es su sobrino. Desea mantenerlo?" she asked, hoping her native tongue would break through his inability to understand. (Yes, he's your nephew. Do you want to hold him?)

"Si," he gasped, accepting his nephew into his arms. The rest of the team crowded around and looked in awe at their new team member. If Brer lived in Los Angeles he'd be under a car at the age of two, but without the boys around it'd be a little more difficult to teach him. With six experienced adults he'd learn much quicker and he'd learn different methods, but with her he'd only learn one. Not that her methods were any less right, however, if one method failed he'd already know another way to try and fix it.

"A kid. You. Have a kid," Beto said, his voice betraying his inability to grasp the concept.

"Yeah, I sure do," Shorty smiled proudly.

She stayed at Hector's side to make sure he didn't drop Brer. Although the men had seen, and probably held Lalia, she still couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about passing him around. She would have preferred to hold him herself and just let them look at the boy. Sooner or later though, he'd have to fall and get back up all by himself.

Brer became the center piece of the reunion, with each member of her team wanting their chance to hold him. Shorty could see they already loved her son, and she was thrilled that they hadn't turned their first moment together into a fight. Her abandonment would soon become a topic of discussion but for the time being everything revolved around Brer.

When it came time to feed him she snuck into her guest house and watched from the window as the men played with Banjo. They seemed truly happy in the sun and sand and she wished they could move down here to be closer to her and Brer. With them around life would be so much easier for her. For them it likely would be a lot of struggles to make ends meet. The racing scene was fairly big in Mexico but nowhere near what it was in the States.

The minute Brer fell asleep against her breast she covered herself again and made her way out onto the sand to call the men back to the house. They came back, sand in their clothes and smiles on their faces. It was like they were new people and she wondered if that's what she looked like now that she'd had Brer.

"He had enough of the tit?" Marvin asked, ruffling her loose hair.

"For now," she answered, allowing Hector to scoop him up again.

Pedro's smile disappeared and he slapped the back of Hector's head, "Hey man, it' my turn."

"No way, it's like shotgun rules. A family member always gets the front seat. That means I get the kid whenever I want," Hector said, as he made faces down at his now wide awake nephew.

"Fuck that! That rule is for only spouses and lay's," Pedro argued fiercely.

"It's for family members too, and the rule then states that I, as his blood uncle, get him automatically unless Shorty declines the rule," Hector stated, his face as serious as she'd ever seen it.

"Shorty? Can you tell him it's my turn to hold the kid?"

"He's not a car seat guys, you can share," she groaned, ushering them into the kitchen of the main house.

The table was laid with platters of burgers, chicken, and salads, with a cooler standing open beside the counter. Each member of the team took a seat, Pedro and Hector still arguing. Shorty stooped and lifted Kennedy into her high chair before sitting beside her brother. She loved that the men were fighting over Brer but she knew as soon as it came time to eat he'd be back in arms instantly. No one messed with their meal times, not even her gorgeous son. And as soon as Jamie sat down and reached for a burger Hector transferred Brer back into her arms and filled his plate with food.

Shorty quickly laid him in his bassinet and placed it below the table so she could watch him while using her feet to rock him back to sleep. He was an easy child to take care of so far, maintaining a quiet silence most of the time. If he desperately needed something like a diaper change or an extra feeding he gave a soft grunt and that was it. The first two days she'd been worried something was wrong with him, but after the initial fear she'd grown accustomed to a quiet child.

Filling her plate with food she devoured it quickly and sat back to enjoy the easy going conversation around the table. She'd though perhaps it would be a difficult transition for the men in her life to realize she was living with Spence and his family. The team, especially Hector, had never held any fondness towards the more crime wise team. And after she'd participated in that fight with them, so long ago, she thought Hector would be furious she'd managed to hook up with Spence again. She could see little lines of tension upon his face, but he was dealing with it maturely. Though she knew once everyone had settled down for the night and they were alone together in her guest house, he'd say his piece.

"Shouldn't you be eating more?" Pedro asked, openly staring at her empty plate. "You're eating for two now."

"That's before the baby, stupid," Beto answered.

"That belly on her says she's eating for two."

"If we did whatever our bodies told us, I'd have cut off your air supply a long time ago, vato," Shorty said, with a flutter of her eyelashes towards her opponent.

Pedro's well used grin crossed his face again and he stuffed another forkful of potato salad into his mouth. "Still got a mouth to go with that extra forty pounds," he replied around his food.

"Oh honey, you're living proof of reincarnation. No one could possibly get to be so stupid in one lifetime."

"I see you were so impressed with your first chin you added two more," he shot back, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Here we go," Beto cut in, his eye roll visible for both Shorty and Pedro.

She leaned back, confident that she would win this war of words. "You could make a fortune helping people lose weight, one look at you and they'd lose their appetite," she said, a small smirk pushing one corner of her mouth up.

Shorty always had a fondness for passing insults back and forth but Pedro always seemed to have an unlimited supply. Over the years she was sure she'd reused her own, and stolen some of his, but he never seemed to run out. And although it was inappropriate dinner talk she couldn't help but wait with baited breath for his next doozy.

"I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit a better argument than that."

"You talk so much shit I'm starting to smell it on your breath,' she followed, still reclining in her seat comfortably.

"I've heard snappier comebacks from a bowl of rice crispies," he quipped.

"Don't look now, but there's one too many people in this room and I think it's you."

Pedro opened his mouth to offer another insult when Hector put a stop to it in his usual manner. A quick slap to the back of both their heads followed by, "Enough already," and their mouths snapped closed.

She eyed him with feigned furry but winked at Pedro. Life in Mexico had its own fun moments but she'd been starved for a good session of rough and tough discussion. Jamie was always so serious and Spence was impossible to bait into an argument. In all the shady dealing's Spence had taken part in she would have thought him always on edge but he was almost as laid back as Leon had been.

As the unbidden comparison invaded her thoughts the smile she'd held since her team's arrival wilted off her face. She wanted desperately to hear news of the Toretto team but she would bet her life that Hector had warned the boys not to mention them. Which was probably a good thing, after all. Finding out that Leon had found a new love would crush her, even though she'd got the best part of him. And although Shorty didn't want Vince to suffer from her disappearance, deep down she hoped he still thought of her daily. She knew it was unbelievably selfish for her to want him to yearn for her, to find it difficult to breathe without her – but that's exactly what she wanted.

Reaching under the table for Brer she pressed her face into his chubby neck folds and breathed in. Baby powder and a small wisp of her vanilla lotion wafted up and for a moment her heart wasn't broken, but whole again. If she couldn't have Leon and Vince, at least she had Brer.

Cradling her son to her chest she smiled as Hector absent mindedly caressed the tiny head of his nephew while still maintaining a vibrant conversation. It was odd to see him so smitten with something other than his car. Once upon a time she had been exactly like him, hot headed and strong willed. And now she was that women she never thought she'd be; putting family before everything.

Miguel and Marvin offered to clear the dishes after everyone had finished eating. While they cleaned up the kitchen the rest of the group retired to the beach where Spence had constructed a large tepee of logs and sticks. The fire was blazing when Shorty sat on a blanket Hector had set out next to his chair. She shook her head when she saw the way he had scooped a hole in the sand, building up the back to form a backrest and laying the blanket over it to block the chill from the damp sand. Snuggling into her sand lounger she looked at her brother, "I can't believe you remember this," she said, gesturing at the makeshift chair.

His eyes filled with unmistakable sadness only to be swept away with a shrug of his shoulders. "Of course I remember it, just like I remember your favorite childhood story," he answered.

Shorty blinked in surprise and looked down into her child's eyes. Of all the easily forgettable things she couldn't imagine how he remembered that. It was one of the most cherished memories she had of her brother and her father, but Hector had never seemed that fond of it. While she was snuggled up against her father's chest he was always laying across the foot of the bed staring at the ceiling in silence. Rereading Br'er Rabbit each and every night hadn't seemed like a fond memory for him, but there it was. Deep down it'd played as significant a part in his youth as it had in hers.

"You think Papi would remember?" she asked, her voice betraying the desperate hope she felt.

"You think he could forget that, baby girl?" he asked, and held his hands out for his nephew. "Give me the kid. You made him read that story every night for three years; I bet I could still recite it word for word."

Shorty picked Brer up off her thighs and transferred him into her brother's capable hands. It pleased her to know that Hector thought their father would remember something and dare she say even appreciate the sentiment. It was a moment in time where it was only ever just the three of them. Their mother had tried to read the bedtime story to her one night and she'd listened patiently, but deep down it unsettled her. Try as she might, her mother just couldn't get the voices right. Halfway through the story she'd stopped her mother and screamed for her father to come finish it. She hadn't given Brer her fathers name, but she'd come as close as possible to carrying on his memory.

"Well, isn't this cozy?" Levi shouted from behind her as he and Ben pulled chairs across the beach from their house.

"This is a family get together and you're not invited. Get lost," Spence laughed, tossing each man a Corona.

They pulled their chairs up to the bonfire and pounded fists with the members of her team before falling into their seats. Shorty watched Hector's face for any sign of negative emotion but found only open awareness. She was taken aback at his easy acceptance and wondered what had come over him. He had truly hated these men when they lived in Los Angeles. It was as if the moment he set his eyes on Brer he'd become a helplessly happy man without a care in the world.

"It's almost feels like you don't want us here," Ben said, then shrugged, "That can't be right. Weird."

Spence grinned and brought his beer bottle to his lips, "Nothing get's past you," he said, saluting the air.

Snuggling farther down into her sand recliner she watched her family silently. It wasn't going to be an easy transition for her when they returned to the US. After only a few hours she had grown accustomed to having them around and the last thing she wanted to do was see them leave. But dwelling on the very near future wasn't going to make their time in Mexico much fun. So, Shorty pushed the worries to the back of her mind and joined in the conversation.

By the time the fire died down all her teammates were fairly drunk and Brer had fallen asleep against her thighs again. Spence and Jamie had retired an hour before while Ben and Levi had wandered off to find women for the evening. She was beyond exhausted but didn't want to waist a minute of time with the boys so she waited until Marvin announced he was ready to crash. Each of the men stumbled to their feet and she followed behind them with her son as they made their way to the main house.

Shorty veered off from the group with her brother and Banjo at her side. Hector slid the glass door opened and locked it behind her. She put Brer in his crib and left the door open a crack so she could hear him if he made a noise. Although he was just over a week old he was already sleeping the time between feedings. In her eyes she had been blessed with the perfect child, far from fussy and more beautiful than a Mexican sunrise.

Tucking her feet under her legs Shorty settled down beside her brother on the couch and faced him head on. She could tell it was time to have it out and she'd been able to read Hector's nervous energy all night. "Say what you need to say," she said, a sad smile gracing her lips.

"How could you keep this from me? And Leon? Don't you think he has a right to know about his son?" he asked. "It is his kid, right?"

A soft snicker settled Hector's fear but she answered his last question anyways, "Yes, Brer is Leon's son. And I didn't, and don't plan on, telling Leon about him. He doesn't want a life with obligations. And I'm not anyone's obligation."

"He should be able to make that choice himself."

"He made it before I left when he told me he was glad it was Letty knocked up and not me. It doesn't get any clearer than that, hermano," she said, her voice betraying the hurt she still harboured despite her brave front.

"He could change his mind though."

"I won't be an obligation, Hector."

Hector lowered his eyes and sighed. She knew him enough to know that he wished she had the same happy family life they'd grown up in. He was used to a typical family consisting of a father, mother, and two children. If she asked herself what she wanted out of life, she knew deep down she wanted exactly what her brother wanted for her. Unfortunately she was just a mother with one and a half children.

"I want you to come home," he breathed out, the corners of his lips pulling taught in his frown.

"This is my home now. I'm back where I really belong."

"That doesn't change the fact that I want you to come home."

Without an answer to his statement Shorty fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't want to return to Los Angeles, in fact, she very much wanted to. But a desire for Brer to grown up around his uncles wasn't enough for her to forget what Leon had said to her. Being in L.A. would only make life difficult for her and she knew it could never be the same for her. Things were different now, she was different.

"Hector?" she asked, pausing only to determine the correct way to ask, "Are they ok?"

"You promised you'd move on," he sighed in response. He wrung his hands together but raised his eyes to her own, "They miss you."

She took his reluctant answer and processed it as best she could. That was all he would give her but she desperately craved more news from him. As much as she assured him she was moving on, she understood she was lying to him as much as herself. No less than hours a day were spent wondering what Leon and Vince were doing and whether they thought of her at all.

"Thanks for coming," was the only answer she found worthy.

He reached forward and mussed her hair up in much the same manner he always did. Shorty grinned under wild hair, realizing that many things had changed but some would always stay the same. She would always be his little sister and she would always need to be watched out for.

Rising from the couch she pressed a kiss to his tanned scalp before retiring to Brer's room for the night. She looked down at the perfect tiny human she had created without meaning too and she hoped she could provide everything he would need. She could never be the father figure he required but maybe some day she'd fall in love again and that man would accept him as his own.

Lying on her side in the cot, Shorty pushed her hand through the crib bars and held Brer's tiny hand. Her thoughts drifted between Leon and Vince until finally she fell asleep.

The short week she spent with her family was the most rewarding one she'd ever experienced. She didn't know if it was because of Brer but she appreciated the men much more than she had before. She'd taken their love for granted and when the time came to let them board the plane back to Los Angeles she could barely let them go.

Unfortunately she didn't have a choice, and when Hector pried her off Pedro and handed her Brer she knew she couldn't keep them there. She may have belonged in Mexico but their lives were back in the states. Her boys boarded the plane with plans to return as much as possible without giving her location away to Dominic Toretto. Until finally, she was left with just her brother and her son.

Cradling Brer against her breast Shorty forced herself to meet Hector's eyes. She could feel the tears collecting against the brim and she inwardly begged herself not to show weakness. Despite her pleas however, the tears spilled forth and she let him pull her against him for one last hug.

"I'll be back soon," he promised quietly.

Shorty nodded sadly, her lips quivering in her effort to stop her tears. She rolled onto her tiptoes, placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered, "No me olvides, hermano," in his ear. (Don't forget me brother.) She rushed away without another word, hurried through the airport, and climbed into the waiting vehicle with Spence behind the wheel.