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September 2014

Deckard was waiting for Toretto in his car. He could still hear his mother's voice in his head and was doing his best to ignore it. He stopped thinking about the first time he'd told Kate he loved her because there was no sense in mourning the past. This was who he was now.

When Toretto arrived, he knew they were going to play the game of chicken again. He was better prepared this time. When the cars collided, he squeezed his eyes shut to avoid getting glass in them. After they crashed and finally stopped moving, he breathed slowly. It was now or never. This was it. He burst out of the wrecked car and stood looking at Toretto, who was aiming a sawed off shotgun at him.

"Did you think this was gonna be a street fight?" he asked, and Deckard knew it was only fair. He'd pulled a gun on Toretto last time.

He pressed his lips together, accepting his fate, but Toretto surprised him once more.

"You're damn right it is," he said, throwing the gun and getting into a fighting stance. Deckard moved to pull some wreckage off his car and held them in front of him.

Then they ran at each other at full speed.

...

While Brian and his team worked to get control of God's Eye back, Kate was trying to find Deckard. Mr. Nobody had given her a general location with a warning that Dom was looking for him too, but she'd gotten lost already. She wanted to find him before Dom found him because she knew Dom probably wasn't going to hold back anymore and would kill him. She hit her brakes hard when she saw a giant of a man holding a very large gun in his hands and aiming at a helicopter above him.

She surmised this to be Agent Luke Hobbs, the one that was fondly referred to as the Samoan Thor by Tej. Now she understood why.

She ducked as bullets sprayed her car and covered her head with her hands. When it stopped, she looked up out the windshield. Hobbs was looking at her, and she knew he could see her FBI vest.

"You all right?!" he called. She nodded. He went back to what he was doing as she climbed out of her now damaged car. She hurried to get out of harm's way until it cleared. When it was over, she went to Hobbs quickly.

"You're Luke Hobbs, right?" she asked.

"That's me," he nodded. "What can I do you for, Miss...?"

"Macer. Kate Macer," she said. "FBI."

"I see that," he smiled. "DSS."

"You're a bit of a legend from what I hear," she commented.

"Aw, it's nothing," he shrugged. "How can I help?"

"I'm trying to get to Deckard Shaw," she said. He stiffened instantly.

"Get in line," he said. "Me and that boy have a dance we gotta do."

"I know, and I'm sorry for what happened, but I have to be the one to find him," she insisted.

"Why's that?"

"It's personal," she answered. Hobbs surveyed her carefully.

"It's personal for me too," he said.

"You can have your shot at him after. I promise. You'll be taking him in. I just need to talk to him first."

"You know where he is?" Hobbs asked.

"I have his last location," she answered. "But no car now."

Hobbs went over to a car with a broken window and opened it.

"Now you do," he said. "Know how to hotwire?"

Kate sighed. She didn't really have a choice.

...

Deckard was having the fight of his life. Toretto was tough, and just when he thought he had him, he was thrown down again. Then his so called friend Mose came along and fired at them, causing the structure to start crumbling. He looked at the crack between his feet and back up at Toretto.

"The thing about street fights," Toretto said with a wry grin, "is that the street always wins."

He stomped his foot, and the cement gave way under Deckard. He fell, and he was pretty sure this was the end.

He knew he deserved it.

...

"DECKARD!" Kate screamed when she and Hobbs screeched to a halt and got out of the car just in time to see the structure fall apart. Hobbs gave her a raised eyebrow look of surprise. She covered her mouth with her hands, watching helplessly as the man she loved was crushed to death.

"Personal, huh?" Hobbs asked. "Just how personal are we talking here?"

"He's my husband," she whispered. She knew he was technically her ex-husband, but she never stopped thinking of him as her husband, even when she did marry Evan for that short period of time. Hobbs inhaled sharply, and she started to run towards the mess. She didn't care if he followed or not. When it all had settled and the helicopter above blew up, she went searching among the rubble.

"DECKARD!" Kate screamed again, sliding and tripping as she hurried through the rubble. "DECKARD!" She felt the tears coming. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't be. She had seen Brian and the others around Dom, trying to revive him, and she feared that if he was dead, then Deckard would most certainly be dead.

"DECKARD!" she screamed once more. She came to a screeching halt when she saw a hand under some rubble.

"Oh my God," she whimpered. She went towards it, pulling off the rubble and revealing Deckard. The way the rubble had landed, it had built a structure around him to save him from being crushed. She landed on her knees and grabbed at his arms. "Deckard? Deckard! Wake up!"

He coughed, and she felt immense relief in her chest. She started to cry as she gripped his face with her hands.

"Deckard?" she said again. "It's me. It's Kate."

"Kate," he choked out. He grabbed one of her hands with his, holding on tightly.

"Hi," she said with a tearful smile. "Oh, Decks."

"I'm...sorry," he said, trying to breathe. She shifted him so that he was out from under the rubble.

"Just lie still," she ordered, looking him over for obvious injuries.

"Kate, I'm sorry," he said again, giving her hand a shake to get her attention.

"Decks, it's all right," she assured him, finally looking at him again.

"No, it's not. I'm just like my father, Kate. I'm just like him," Deckard said. "Put a bullet in me, Kate. Right now, just do it. I deserve to die." She put her free hand on his chest and gave him a shake back.

"No, I won't. You're not your father," she said. "Because your father would never apologize, and you just did."

"I killed someone who didn't deserve it," Deckard went on. "Among other things."

"Then you make it right by going and doing your time," she told him.

"I'm sorry for hurting a lot of people, but I'm more sorry that I hurt you," he said.

"Just rest," she ordered. "Okay? Hobbs is coming to arrest you."

"Oh, great," Deckard groaned, coughing again. "That asshole."

"Be nice," Kate chastised.

"Don't visit me," he instructed, ignoring her comment. "In prison."

"Decks..."

"You gotta leave me behind. I'm bad luck not to mention risking you getting killed," he said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, confused.

"Eteon," Deckard replied. Kate looked at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

"What is Eteon?" she asked.

"I can't tell you anymore," he told her. "I can't put you at risk."

"Well, well, well," Hobbs said, approaching them now. "Look who's a squashed bug on a windshield now?"

"Sod off," Deckard managed to say, wincing. Kate helped him sit up and cringed inside at the sound of the handcuffs going on.

"He really should get checked," Kate told him.

"He will. I'm just making sure he doesn't run again," Hobbs said.

"He won't," Kate promised. Deckard didn't say anything. He closed his eyes, and Kate knew he was going over the things he'd done wrong in the last few days. When paramedics arrived, Hobbs gestured for them to check Deckard out. Once he was given a clean bill of health, minus the obvious wounds from his fight and fall, Hobbs started to take him away.

"Wait," Kate said, putting her hand on his arm. "Can I have a moment?"

"I ain't leaving him alone," Hobbs started.

"Then stand over there," she gestured. "I have a gun, and I'm not afraid to shoot him in the leg if he starts running again."

"Thanks," Deckard said sarcastically. Hobbs gave her a meaningful look before taking four steps to the side, watching.

"Decks," Kate said, making him look at her now.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"Stop," she ordered. "I know you're sorry. Do your time, but I'm going to come visit you."

"No..." he started.

"I'm going to visit you because you would do it for me," she interrupted. "No matter what I did, you were there for me, so now I'm here for you, okay?"

He awkwardly reached into his pocket with his cuffed hands and pulled out his compass, handing it to her.

"I got really lost, Kate," he said, his voice a bit emotional.

"But you're already starting to find your way back," she told him, smoothing his face with her hand. "And I know I don't know everything, but you can tell me when you're ready. I'll hold onto this for you, and you come for it when you can." She held up the compass.

"Okay," he agreed. "But Kate?"

"Yea?"

"Please don't visit me," he said. "They're watching. You have to be as far away from me as possible."

"Decks..."

"Do that for me," he cut her off. "Please. Or else me leaving you six years ago to keep you safe was all for nothing." She stared at him, realizing he was serious. She nodded slowly and moved to press her lips against his cheek softly for a moment before stepping back and gesturing to Hobbs. She could hear the two of them start to bicker as they walked away, and she started to laugh. One day, those two would be buddies. She just knew it.

...

Deckard rested his head against the cold concrete wall. He was glad to be rid of Hobbs. The man aggravated him to no end. Instead, he started thinking about Kate. He hoped she would still be safe. He hoped Eteon wouldn't have someone inside the prison ready to kill him.

Lastly, he wondered about his brother. Had Owen woken up? He hadn't been able to find out before ending up here, but he thought it might be for the best. Deckard closed his eyes and thought about the last two weeks. He felt his throat go tight with emotion, and he swallowed hard. He chose to think about Kate again. He allowed his memory to activate and thought of the first time they'd fully expressed their love for each other. She had been beautiful then and was still just as beautiful now. He felt himself start to relax the more he thought about her. He hadn't allowed himself to think about her like this in years, not for this long in one sitting anyway. He hoped one day he'd get to see her again.

And maybe, just maybe, they could be together again.

...

Kate returned to Arizona and to work at her new FBI field office. Her new partner, Reggie Wayne, smiled when she walked into work.

"You're back," he noted. "Where did you go?"

"I just had to tend to something personal," she answered. She felt Deckard's compass in her pocket and touched it absently after she sat down. She liked having a piece of him with her again.

"So I hear you're very much by the books," Reggie commented.

"Yes, I am." Kate had a very solid reason for this, one she thought of very frequently.

"Good. I think we'll get along just fine," he grinned. She smiled back.

Yes, yes they would.