TITLE: Running CHAPTER 21 of many chapters
AUTHOR: Daaasl
RATING: R for language, violence and some sex
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dominic, Leon, Vincent, Mia,
Brian, Jessie and Letty belong the film company. All the
other characters are mine, all mine though. Any copyright
infringement is unintended.
ARCHIVE: You can find previous chapters at:
http://www.realmofvindiesel.homestead.com Anyone else
wanting to post my fanfic on their site, please check with me.
FEEDBACK: Please. I like to know what you think. But be
gentle with me.
Mia's POV ******** The house got really quiet after Brian left with Vince and Jesse. I tapped softly on Dom's bedroom door to see if he was there and creaked open the door to see that Dom and Letty lay peacefully asleep in each other's arms. I couldn't help but smile. I decided against waking them up because I knew Brian, V, and Jesse were probably already at the garage, so there was no need to make either of them get up yet. I tiptoed down the hallway to the stairs and went down to see if Leon had left yet. There was a note on the fridge.
M, Going to the hospital now. I'll see you there. Leon
I poured myself some coffee and took it back upstairs with me while I finished getting ready. I thought of picking up some flowers for Sarah on my way to join Leon at the hospital. Maybe they would lift her spirits and give her something nice to see besides all the machines and tubes. I shivered as I remembered seeing poor Sarah through the tiny glass pane in the door to her room. She looked so small and helpless. Even from so far away, I could see how bruised Sarah was and how many kinds of emergency equipment were hooked up to her in case she should relapse into unconsciousness or her kidneys began to fail, or.... I had to make myself stop. From nurses' training, I was fully aware that Sarah was not completely recovered yet and that it would still be a little while before she could confidently be declared out of danger, by the doctor. I just hoped Sarah would be feeling better and that she would be in a forgiving mood when we saw her today.
I went out to my car and was about to get in when I noticed a black SUV parked across the street, and about 3 houses down from where I was standing. I couldn't remember having seen it in the 'hood before. I decided that was the reason why it caught my attention. After a second, I snapped my fingers as if I had forgotten something and returned to the house. Closing the front door behind me, I stood and tried to think of why the sight of the big SUV was making me so nervous. I'd thought all of the drama with the heists were over, but it suddenly occurred to me that someone might be watching us again!
As I stood, trying to decide what I should do next, I heard Letty's bare feet pattering down the stairs.
Lett! C'mere!" I frantically waved my hand at her, and whispered to her hoarsely.
"What's going Mia?" Letty looked confused, but kept her voice at the same level of whispering that I had used.
"You see that truck? Just parked there down the street?" I said pointing through our front window curtains. She moved to a little spot between the curtains where she could see and squinted, focusing her eyes. Suddenly Letty turned, ran to the foot of the stairs and yelled up.
"Dom! Dom! Get down here now!"
Letty had gone half way up the stairs before Dom appeared on the landing above.
"What the hell Letty--?" he began in confusion.
"Just get your ass down here quick Dom! We need you."
Running back down the stairs and over to the window where I was still watching, Letty turned to Dom, waiting impatiently. When he joined us at the window, Letty asked him in an intense whisper, "Is this the Escalade V told us was tailing Sarah on the day of her wreck.?"
Dom's eyebrows shot up and looked at both of us; then looked out through the curtain like Letty had.
"Holy shit!" he barked, turning from the window and reaching for the handle of the front door in a flash.
"No! No! Dom, don't!" I yelled pulling at his arm. Dom turned to me with a glare. I could see his temper flaring and the flash of anger.
"Who is that out there?" I asked frantically.
"I don't know, but that's the fucking truck that ran Sarah off the road, and I'm gonna break their fucking necks!!"
"Stop Dom!' Letty yelled, as he furiously pulled his arm from my grasp. Reaching out her hand to stop him, she lowered her voice to a loud whisper again, and said "Damn it Dom, they'll just run by the time you get to the end of the porch! Don't do this!" Her eyes demanded that he listen to her.
"What the hell? You expect me to just let them just sit outside our door and watch us all? Fuck that!" As he turned back to the door, he pushed me aside too roughly and I landed hard on the floor, with a yelp. The shock in my eyes must have registered with him, because he suddenly reached down to me, startled.
"Oh Jesus Mia! God, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" he asked with concern as he pulled me up.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Letty yelled, as she punched him hard in the arm.
Dom didn't even flinch at the punch, but it got his attention and he turned to Letty distracted, with a mild look of hurt feelings on his face. Putting my hands out to them both, I assured them quickly.
"It's ok you guys. I'm all right. I just stumbled. I'm fine. But I've got an idea too. Wait here for a second, o.k.?"
I ran back upstairs to Leon's room and looked out the window. From that point, I had a clear view of the Escalade sitting just down and across the street. I ran back downstairs to Jesse's room and grabbed his binoculars. Letty and Dom gave me questioning looks as I waved towards them to wait one more minute and raced back up stairs. When I came back down within a minute, to rejoin them at the window, I calmly handed a slip of paper to Dom.
"Two can play this game." I said smiling grimly as I gave it to him.
Looking down at the paper in Dom's hand, Letty's eyes widened in appreciation and she said "Good work Mia!" and gave my shoulder a squeeze.
As Dom digested the information on the paper, he nodded his head in agreement and finally said, "OK. OK. So we go about our business like nothing happened then. Mia? You still going to the hospital?"
I nodded.
"Ok, we're gonna make sure they don't follow you there. Better yet, we all leave the same time. I'll make sure I get their attention and distract them. Then I'll take this information over to Jesse and have him start on it right away. When you get back from the hospital Mia, we should know who the hell this is."
Dom and Letty went upstairs and dressed quickly so we could all leave together. When we made it outside, the truck was still parked down across the street in the same spot. None of us gave it a glance, and we all left in different directions. As I watched in my rearview mirror, I noticed that I had been able to leave without them on my tail. I still didn't relax until I made it to the hospital though. After I parked in the lot, I waited quietly in my car for 10 minutes to be positive that the Escalade was nowhere in sight and then finally went in to see Sarah.
******* Dom's POV *******
I was able to get between the Escalade and Mia's car, slowing them down long enough to distract them, and for Mia to get a couple of miles ahead. It felt good screwing with the Escalade, know that I was really pissing off whoever was driving, with my maneuvers. I grinned widely with pleasure. It made me feel good to get even a little.
Letty and I made it to the garage at the same time, even though we took different routes, so we both got to see the Escalade gun it's engine and race away in fury as we pulled up and parked. After we got inside, I pulled Jesse to one side.
"Run this for me right now!"
Jesse just nodded and dipped off into the office. I looked over at Leon's car. It was almost finished. I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to come back to find his car all finished, with new decals. I even added a few upgrades to his engine that he had been talking about wanting to add. It was the least I could do.
I knew Mia would be bringing him back here after their visit with Sarah. After lunch, I figured I would quietly leave and go by to see Sarah myself. I wanted her to understand that she shouldn't blame Leon for our checking up on her background. It was a necessary part of protecting the family for me, and for the family to protect itself. It was important for me to know your credentials if you are going to be around me and mine.
Although the information we got about her scum of an ex-boyfriend being related to the mob was disturbing, the rest of her background was solid and reassuring. We all make our mistakes and this Anthony punk was probably just a lousy break for her. Over the weeks that Sarah had stayed with us, I had pretty much started to think of her as a potential part of the team anyway. She was friendly, good natured and smart as shit at crunching numbers. She would be a big plus for us in managing our business. Better yet, she seemed to really enjoy doing that for us. I like Sarah's willingness to pitch in. I wanted to tell her that we were all hoping she would stay and help us out. I wanted to tell her that myself.
As I was lost in thought, Vince came up from behind me and rested his hand on my shoulder, making me jump.
"Whoa there brother! Its just me." and he slapped me on the shoulder a bit harder, giving me it a hard squeeze for good measure.
"Sorry, my mind's somewhere else." I replied.
"All of us are like that." he grinned like a monkey. Then he got serious. "You uh. find anything out about what I was telling you?"
"Actually yeah, I did man. Mia saw the fucker parked on our block this morning. Jesse's running the plates as we speak."
"Great man. When we catch this bastard -"
"Ah. No. Not just yet V. We still have to tell Leon yet."
"Yeah. The two of you really need to sit down and talk first -- before anything else."
"Yeah.We will eventually."
"Eventually ain't good enough brother. You need to do it today!"
************** MIA's POV *************
I went up to Sarah's room and stopped in at the nursing station. One of the nurses told me that Sarah was getting the tube removed from her throat just then and that I should wait until the doctor came out. I sat down in the lounge again, and within minutes, I saw Dr. Solomon come through the door towards me.
"Miss Toretto, good morning."
"Dr. Solomon. How is she?"
"Much better. She is breathing on her own now, although she is sleeping. It's just the effects of the pain killers. As her strength increases she should be able to stay awake longer after each dose."
"Is Leon in there now?"
"Yes. Probably asleep too." he said. "It's good to see she has such a good support network of good friends around her. After her multiple surgeries and the traumatic loss of the baby, she will need all the support she can get."
"I'm sorry doctor. Did you say 'baby'?" I blurted.
Dr. Solomon flushed in embarrassment and he reached up with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, as his eyes squeezed shut. Opening his eyes with a sigh, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that. I made a mistake." Looking at me solemnly, he finally said, "We discovered that your friend Sarah, had been approximately 6 or 7 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident. Unfortunately the multiple traumas she sustained in the accident caused spontaneous miscarriage, and there was nothing we could do."
Doctor Solomon watched my face as I took in this shocking information. Then he continued.
"I suggested to her fiancé that he be the one to tell her, so that he could comfort and support her. I am very sorry about this surprise. I assumed that as their close friend, you already knew."
"No." I replied. "We didn't know. I mean -- she hadn't told me yet." I told the doctor in a daze.
After a moment he said that I could go in to Sarah to visit. He told me once more that he was sorry, before he turned and left. Still stunned, I walked slowly to her room and looked in through the little window in her door. I saw Leon curled up in the chair next to her bed, and Sarah watching him sleep. She was awake, so I opened the door and crept in, mouthing the word 'hello' while waving to her. Sarah smiled and followed me with her eyes as I walked to the side of her bed, across from Leon, still sleeping in his chair. I reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.
Sarah spoke low, in a rough whisper. "It's so good to see you Mia! God, I'm glad you came!"
Leaning down, I kissed her cheek and said, " I've missed you too Sarah. I was so worried about you. How are you doing honey?" I squeezed her hand gently again and her forehead wrinkled slightly as she looked at me with questions in her eyes.
"How long has he been here?" she said softly, nodding towards Leon. She struggled slightly to get out the words. Her voice was whispery-rough but by leaning closer, I could hear her fine. I lowered my voice to a whisper also.
"Leon hasn't left your side until you woke up yesterday. After he talked to you, I finally got him to come home and get some decent sleep."
"How long have I been in here?" she asked me next.
"You've been in here for 6 days honey." Sarah's eyes popped with astonishment and then she rolled her eyes at me.
"Guess I did a number on myself, huh?" she whispered and then began to laugh but I could see that the pain made her wince.
"Shh, girl! Don't try to be funny." I shushed her giving her a tiny grin. "You still got a few tubes in your side and your arms." I said, pointing to the ones still sticking out of her upper torso, under her left arm, and to the IV in her right arm.
Suddenly Sarah's face grew serious. "Mia, there was a silver briefcase that I had in the car-"
I reassured her, saying "V got it out for you and Leon has it in his room. It's safe."
Sarah sighed with relief and slowly blinked away the panic of losing the case.
Looking into my eyes, she whispered softly "I don't really want to see Leon right now Mia. I know he hasn't left my side, and I love him for that, but right now I just can't deal with him, and all the lies, and the crazy shit and ---" Her whisper trailed away as her eyes began to glisten with tears.
"Oh Sarah. I'm so sorry. I understand what your saying. He feels like hell about all this too." I told her.
After a pause, I continued whispering. "I tell you what. I'll try to get him out of here for a bit. It will give you a little rest, but I know he doesn't want to leave you for long, so it may not be easy."
I thought for a minute as I looked into her pleading eyes. Suddenly I had an idea.
I whispered to her, "Pretend to be sleeping and, I'll see about persuading him to leave for at least a little bit."
She nodded with a grateful look and closed her eyes gently. I waited for a minute or two before I quietly walked around to the other side of the bed and put my hand gently on Leon's shoulder. I leaned my head down close to his ear.
"Hey you." I whispered as I shook his shoulder softly. Leon's eyes flew open, but didn't focus immediately. When they did, he immediately checked Sarah over and after a moment he moved to unfold himself from the chair quietly and stretch.
"Hey Mia." he said in a soft voice. "She's still asleep?" he asked as he looked back to her and searched her face again.
"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb her. Why don't you go get the two of us some coffee and stretch your legs. I'll take over the watch for you for a little bit, and you can get me a cappucino downstairs" I suggested. Leon turned his head back to me.
"It's really important that I talk to her Mia." Leon told me. "There's something the doctor hasn't told her yet. He wanted me to tell her --"
"I already know." I interrupted quickly. Leon drew in a breath sharply and his eyes grew wide with anger and shock.
"How did you --" his voice began to rise.
I wrinkled up my face and shushed Leon quietly. I continued, "Doctor Solomon accidentally told me. He assumed that since all of us seemed so close, that I just knew." Leon stared at me, stunned. I whispered to Leon again, repeating my words. "He just thought I already knew Leon."
Leon lowered his head and let out a deep sigh. We both stood quietly, thinking. Then he looked up at me, his face sad and concerned, his eyes wet with unshed tears.
"How do I tell her Mia? I.How in God's name can I tell her something so serious like this?" His eyes searched my face as he whispered to me.
"Oh Leon. I don't know." I replied with sympathy.
We stood in silence a little longer and then I asked him, "Leon? What if I tell her? Maybe it would be easier to hear this from me -- another woman. You know? I will tell her what the doctor said happened, if you want me to. Do you want me to tell her?"
Leon let out another ragged sigh, before running his hands through his hair. Looking at me again, he held my eyes as he thought about he should do. After a long moment, he closed his eyes and nodded yes. When he opened his eyes, I nodded my head o.k. Leon walked over to Sarah lightly traced the outline of her face while placing a tender kiss on her forehead, before he turned to leave. Before he left the room entirely, I stopped him briefly and hugged him hard. When I let him go, he gave me a rueful smile and slowly walked out of the room.
When I finally turned back to Sarah's bed, I was greeted with her wide-open eyes filled with fear and dread.
"Tell me what?" she demanded in a harsh whisper.
*********** Leon's POV ***********
Before getting the coffee, I stopped downstairs for a smoke break. All this was so much harder then I could have imagined it would be. I decided to sit outside for a while. The morning air felt good, and I wasn't in a hurry to return to the grief that I would probably find on Sarah's face. I stayed outside for about fifteen minutes before I went to the cafeteria to get coffee for Mia and I.
I stopped at the gift shop, and saw a small bouquet of yellow and white roses, laced with honeysuckle flowers and little ferns. I felt a smile return to my face as I inhaled the sweet scent. God I loved Sarah. Wait! Did I just say that? I couldn't possibly be in love with her! Its only been a month since I first saw her. Love doesn't hit that fast.
As I stood in the gift shop staring at the bouquet in my hands, I looked up and saw my reflection looking back at me from the glass in the flower case. I was startled by the guy looking back at me. I was clean, but my hair needed a cut and kind of stuck out in different directions; my shirt clean but pretty wrinkled; I'd lost weight, so I looked a little thin; I'd been inside so long I was getting pale; and, there was this odd smile on my face as I held this bouquet of delicate flowers in my large hands. I looked pretty funny to me when I saw myself. Damned old coyote, Vince! He always knows how to read me. Hell, he saw the signs days ago, but I was too pissed to hear him clearly at the time. I laughed at the fool in the reflection.
After I paid for the flowers, I took them and the coffee back upstairs. I passed the nurse's station with a quick nod and approached Sarah's room. As I got closer, I slowed down. I began to fill with dread again. I slowed to a stop just outside the room and took a few deep, slow breaths to pull my shit together. That was when I heard soft crying. My heart dropped to my feet. I could hear their soft voices filled with tears. Sarah's breathless sobs ripped at me, but I didn't want to walk in yet. I was afraid of making things worse. I stood frozen to the spot and I could hear their murmured words.
"Sarah, it'll be ok. You're going to be fine." Mia said in a little voice.
"Mia, I'm just . I don't understand!" Sarah's said hoarsely, "How far along did the doctor say I was?"
"Doctor Solomon told me it was 6 or 7 weeks along honey."
After a moment of silence Sarah began. "That was about two or three weeks before I. ..
There was a longer silence and then Sarah gasped. "Oh dear God!"
I stopped myself before I could rush through the door to respond to the shock and upset in her voice. Instead, I took the chance of looking carefully around the corner of the doorway and was in just in time to see Sarah's face crumple in pain. She turned her head into her pillows and let out a small wail of hurt and sorrow.
I saw Mia lean forward in concern, stroking Sarah's hair and speaking gently to her.
"Sarah, what's wrong? What happened two or three weeks before? Talk to me please?"
Mia was trying hard to get Sarah to talk; to tell her what had happened and why.
Sarah turned her head to Mia and said in her tearful hoarse whisper, "Oh Mia. God help me!" she gasped. "Two and a half weeks before I left, Anthony beat me really bad. But -- but. that's wasn't all." and Sarah let out a strangled sob.
I pulled back from the doorway, my fists clenched in anger, when I heard her tell of the beating she got from Anthony. I took a deep breath, trying to hold back my anger and concentrated on hearing what else Sarah would say.
"I don't understand Sarah." Mia pleaded. "Did he rape you? Was it. Was this Anthony's baby? Sarah honey. You cannot carry this kind of thing around inside like this forever."
A long silence was broken only by Sarah's sobs. Damn it! Nobody was talking anymore. I wanted Sarah to talk! What had happened to her? What? It was everything I could do to I force myself to stay outside the room, in the hallway.
"I don't know." I heard Sarah finally whisper.
Mia's voice said kindly, "Please, tell me what happened Sarah. I don't know how to help you if I don't know what happened honey."
Another quiet moment and then I heard Sarah ask. "Mia, did you know the team ran a background check on me?"
Shit. I didn't like where that was going. I made a few shuffling noises outside and then I walked into the room with the flowers and slowly crossed to Sarah's bed as if nothing special was up.
"Hey Sarah." I said trying to behave as if I was o.k., but the look on her face, brought up my guilty feelings again.
Glaring at me through her tears she demanded. "I need to know why Leon. Why did you do it to me?" She looked hard at me, with hurt as I placed the flowers on the table next to her. I searched my mind for the right words to say.
"The team had to know you weren't a threat to us." Mia said quietly.
Sarah's head turned quickly to Mia and she stared at her in disbelief and anger. "So you knew about all of this?"
"Most of it yeah." Mia answered. "I'm a part of the family -- of the team, so I knew what was being done." she said with some shame.
Sarah huffed in frustration, causing a sharp pain in her side. She yelped in pain and fury. Her head moved back and forth as she stared at each of us with a combination of contempt and hurt.
"We can't talk about this anymore today Sarah. We'll have to talk more about this later. Your doctor isn't going to like it if we get you more upset." and then she looked over at me in desperation.
Catching the look, Sara asked coldly. "Does he know what you just told me Mia?"
Mia stared at me with a dumbfounded look. Sarah's question had taken her by surprise and she really didn't know what to say. I just turned my head to Sarah and nodded my head yes as I looked in her eyes.
"The doctor told me." I said to her. He thought it would be good for you to have support from all of us while you are recovering from everything." Sarah's wail of anger and pain made my insides twist and lurch. A nurse came flying into the room in response to the noise.
"What's going on here? What are you doing? You can't upset her. I have to ask you to leave now." said the nurse grabbing my arm and ushering Mia and I out of the room.
"Wait! No! Please, nurse" Sarah begged, to stop the nurse. She paused to catch her breath for a moment, watching the three of us stopped in the doorway to her room. "It'll be o.k." she said as she labored to catch her breath. Sarah continued to gasp, trying to get her breathing under control, when suddenly a realization crossed over her face. Terror flashed in her eyes. "I. I can't breathe." she gasped.
"That's it! You have to leave while we get her stabilized! The nurse gave us a final push out of the room. Mia and I stumbled into hallway while another nurse rushed past us, into the room. Poor Mia's face was puffy from crying. I felt ashamed that I had been eavesdropping on Mia and Sarah, so I played dumb.
"What did she say when you told her she lost the baby Mia?"
"Oh Leon!" she said as she folded up, falling against me in tears again. I just held her and smoothed her hair patiently.
"It's ok. Shhh Mia. It's gonna be ok." I told her.
She finally looked up at me. "No, it's not Leon. That.that.pig raped her." I felt my jaw clench again immediately and my anger and blood began to boil.
Mia began to ramble, talking mostly to herself. "I know there's more to her story, but she never finished telling me. What could there be? What could be worse then that? God, didn't that bastard put her through enough?"
"We'll take care of her. Mia I swear to God!"
" I know you'll take care of her. I know you love her Leon." I looked at Mia in surprise. Christ! Was it so obvious to everyone but me? What was happening to me? I had never let any women affect me so deeply. Mia and I waited in the hallway outside Sarah's room until the nurses came back out.
"You two go home please. She has recovered her breath and we've sedated her so she will be forced to rest." said the senior nurse. If you get her worked her up like that again though, we will be forced to remove you from her visiting list. You need to understand. Any added stress will be detrimental in her recovery." Before either one of us could answer, the nurse huffed away, taking the other nurse with her. Mia and I looked at each other in shock.
I growled. "I wasn't purposely trying to upset Sarah! What the hell is wrong with that bitchy ---" "Leon don't. Don't waste your time or energy. Let's just go back to the garage, for now, okay? We can try visiting hours again later tonight."
The garage. Hell, I hadn't been there in a week. My car had been sitting there rotting away. Jesse was cool about me using his car all week. He just caught rides with Vince for the most part. As I followed Mia back to the garage, I wondered what was in store for me there. I knew I needed to talk to Dom. I had blamed him for everything that had happened, when it was really all my fault. I knew had I made him feel like a piece of shit, but misery loves company man. I had made it a point to make him as miserable as I was. Now it was time to set things straight. ******************************************
Mia's POV ******** The house got really quiet after Brian left with Vince and Jesse. I tapped softly on Dom's bedroom door to see if he was there and creaked open the door to see that Dom and Letty lay peacefully asleep in each other's arms. I couldn't help but smile. I decided against waking them up because I knew Brian, V, and Jesse were probably already at the garage, so there was no need to make either of them get up yet. I tiptoed down the hallway to the stairs and went down to see if Leon had left yet. There was a note on the fridge.
M, Going to the hospital now. I'll see you there. Leon
I poured myself some coffee and took it back upstairs with me while I finished getting ready. I thought of picking up some flowers for Sarah on my way to join Leon at the hospital. Maybe they would lift her spirits and give her something nice to see besides all the machines and tubes. I shivered as I remembered seeing poor Sarah through the tiny glass pane in the door to her room. She looked so small and helpless. Even from so far away, I could see how bruised Sarah was and how many kinds of emergency equipment were hooked up to her in case she should relapse into unconsciousness or her kidneys began to fail, or.... I had to make myself stop. From nurses' training, I was fully aware that Sarah was not completely recovered yet and that it would still be a little while before she could confidently be declared out of danger, by the doctor. I just hoped Sarah would be feeling better and that she would be in a forgiving mood when we saw her today.
I went out to my car and was about to get in when I noticed a black SUV parked across the street, and about 3 houses down from where I was standing. I couldn't remember having seen it in the 'hood before. I decided that was the reason why it caught my attention. After a second, I snapped my fingers as if I had forgotten something and returned to the house. Closing the front door behind me, I stood and tried to think of why the sight of the big SUV was making me so nervous. I'd thought all of the drama with the heists were over, but it suddenly occurred to me that someone might be watching us again!
As I stood, trying to decide what I should do next, I heard Letty's bare feet pattering down the stairs.
Lett! C'mere!" I frantically waved my hand at her, and whispered to her hoarsely.
"What's going Mia?" Letty looked confused, but kept her voice at the same level of whispering that I had used.
"You see that truck? Just parked there down the street?" I said pointing through our front window curtains. She moved to a little spot between the curtains where she could see and squinted, focusing her eyes. Suddenly Letty turned, ran to the foot of the stairs and yelled up.
"Dom! Dom! Get down here now!"
Letty had gone half way up the stairs before Dom appeared on the landing above.
"What the hell Letty--?" he began in confusion.
"Just get your ass down here quick Dom! We need you."
Running back down the stairs and over to the window where I was still watching, Letty turned to Dom, waiting impatiently. When he joined us at the window, Letty asked him in an intense whisper, "Is this the Escalade V told us was tailing Sarah on the day of her wreck.?"
Dom's eyebrows shot up and looked at both of us; then looked out through the curtain like Letty had.
"Holy shit!" he barked, turning from the window and reaching for the handle of the front door in a flash.
"No! No! Dom, don't!" I yelled pulling at his arm. Dom turned to me with a glare. I could see his temper flaring and the flash of anger.
"Who is that out there?" I asked frantically.
"I don't know, but that's the fucking truck that ran Sarah off the road, and I'm gonna break their fucking necks!!"
"Stop Dom!' Letty yelled, as he furiously pulled his arm from my grasp. Reaching out her hand to stop him, she lowered her voice to a loud whisper again, and said "Damn it Dom, they'll just run by the time you get to the end of the porch! Don't do this!" Her eyes demanded that he listen to her.
"What the hell? You expect me to just let them just sit outside our door and watch us all? Fuck that!" As he turned back to the door, he pushed me aside too roughly and I landed hard on the floor, with a yelp. The shock in my eyes must have registered with him, because he suddenly reached down to me, startled.
"Oh Jesus Mia! God, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" he asked with concern as he pulled me up.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Letty yelled, as she punched him hard in the arm.
Dom didn't even flinch at the punch, but it got his attention and he turned to Letty distracted, with a mild look of hurt feelings on his face. Putting my hands out to them both, I assured them quickly.
"It's ok you guys. I'm all right. I just stumbled. I'm fine. But I've got an idea too. Wait here for a second, o.k.?"
I ran back upstairs to Leon's room and looked out the window. From that point, I had a clear view of the Escalade sitting just down and across the street. I ran back downstairs to Jesse's room and grabbed his binoculars. Letty and Dom gave me questioning looks as I waved towards them to wait one more minute and raced back up stairs. When I came back down within a minute, to rejoin them at the window, I calmly handed a slip of paper to Dom.
"Two can play this game." I said smiling grimly as I gave it to him.
Looking down at the paper in Dom's hand, Letty's eyes widened in appreciation and she said "Good work Mia!" and gave my shoulder a squeeze.
As Dom digested the information on the paper, he nodded his head in agreement and finally said, "OK. OK. So we go about our business like nothing happened then. Mia? You still going to the hospital?"
I nodded.
"Ok, we're gonna make sure they don't follow you there. Better yet, we all leave the same time. I'll make sure I get their attention and distract them. Then I'll take this information over to Jesse and have him start on it right away. When you get back from the hospital Mia, we should know who the hell this is."
Dom and Letty went upstairs and dressed quickly so we could all leave together. When we made it outside, the truck was still parked down across the street in the same spot. None of us gave it a glance, and we all left in different directions. As I watched in my rearview mirror, I noticed that I had been able to leave without them on my tail. I still didn't relax until I made it to the hospital though. After I parked in the lot, I waited quietly in my car for 10 minutes to be positive that the Escalade was nowhere in sight and then finally went in to see Sarah.
******* Dom's POV *******
I was able to get between the Escalade and Mia's car, slowing them down long enough to distract them, and for Mia to get a couple of miles ahead. It felt good screwing with the Escalade, know that I was really pissing off whoever was driving, with my maneuvers. I grinned widely with pleasure. It made me feel good to get even a little.
Letty and I made it to the garage at the same time, even though we took different routes, so we both got to see the Escalade gun it's engine and race away in fury as we pulled up and parked. After we got inside, I pulled Jesse to one side.
"Run this for me right now!"
Jesse just nodded and dipped off into the office. I looked over at Leon's car. It was almost finished. I thought it would be a nice surprise for him to come back to find his car all finished, with new decals. I even added a few upgrades to his engine that he had been talking about wanting to add. It was the least I could do.
I knew Mia would be bringing him back here after their visit with Sarah. After lunch, I figured I would quietly leave and go by to see Sarah myself. I wanted her to understand that she shouldn't blame Leon for our checking up on her background. It was a necessary part of protecting the family for me, and for the family to protect itself. It was important for me to know your credentials if you are going to be around me and mine.
Although the information we got about her scum of an ex-boyfriend being related to the mob was disturbing, the rest of her background was solid and reassuring. We all make our mistakes and this Anthony punk was probably just a lousy break for her. Over the weeks that Sarah had stayed with us, I had pretty much started to think of her as a potential part of the team anyway. She was friendly, good natured and smart as shit at crunching numbers. She would be a big plus for us in managing our business. Better yet, she seemed to really enjoy doing that for us. I like Sarah's willingness to pitch in. I wanted to tell her that we were all hoping she would stay and help us out. I wanted to tell her that myself.
As I was lost in thought, Vince came up from behind me and rested his hand on my shoulder, making me jump.
"Whoa there brother! Its just me." and he slapped me on the shoulder a bit harder, giving me it a hard squeeze for good measure.
"Sorry, my mind's somewhere else." I replied.
"All of us are like that." he grinned like a monkey. Then he got serious. "You uh. find anything out about what I was telling you?"
"Actually yeah, I did man. Mia saw the fucker parked on our block this morning. Jesse's running the plates as we speak."
"Great man. When we catch this bastard -"
"Ah. No. Not just yet V. We still have to tell Leon yet."
"Yeah. The two of you really need to sit down and talk first -- before anything else."
"Yeah.We will eventually."
"Eventually ain't good enough brother. You need to do it today!"
************** MIA's POV *************
I went up to Sarah's room and stopped in at the nursing station. One of the nurses told me that Sarah was getting the tube removed from her throat just then and that I should wait until the doctor came out. I sat down in the lounge again, and within minutes, I saw Dr. Solomon come through the door towards me.
"Miss Toretto, good morning."
"Dr. Solomon. How is she?"
"Much better. She is breathing on her own now, although she is sleeping. It's just the effects of the pain killers. As her strength increases she should be able to stay awake longer after each dose."
"Is Leon in there now?"
"Yes. Probably asleep too." he said. "It's good to see she has such a good support network of good friends around her. After her multiple surgeries and the traumatic loss of the baby, she will need all the support she can get."
"I'm sorry doctor. Did you say 'baby'?" I blurted.
Dr. Solomon flushed in embarrassment and he reached up with one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, as his eyes squeezed shut. Opening his eyes with a sigh, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that. I made a mistake." Looking at me solemnly, he finally said, "We discovered that your friend Sarah, had been approximately 6 or 7 weeks pregnant at the time of the accident. Unfortunately the multiple traumas she sustained in the accident caused spontaneous miscarriage, and there was nothing we could do."
Doctor Solomon watched my face as I took in this shocking information. Then he continued.
"I suggested to her fiancé that he be the one to tell her, so that he could comfort and support her. I am very sorry about this surprise. I assumed that as their close friend, you already knew."
"No." I replied. "We didn't know. I mean -- she hadn't told me yet." I told the doctor in a daze.
After a moment he said that I could go in to Sarah to visit. He told me once more that he was sorry, before he turned and left. Still stunned, I walked slowly to her room and looked in through the little window in her door. I saw Leon curled up in the chair next to her bed, and Sarah watching him sleep. She was awake, so I opened the door and crept in, mouthing the word 'hello' while waving to her. Sarah smiled and followed me with her eyes as I walked to the side of her bed, across from Leon, still sleeping in his chair. I reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.
Sarah spoke low, in a rough whisper. "It's so good to see you Mia! God, I'm glad you came!"
Leaning down, I kissed her cheek and said, " I've missed you too Sarah. I was so worried about you. How are you doing honey?" I squeezed her hand gently again and her forehead wrinkled slightly as she looked at me with questions in her eyes.
"How long has he been here?" she said softly, nodding towards Leon. She struggled slightly to get out the words. Her voice was whispery-rough but by leaning closer, I could hear her fine. I lowered my voice to a whisper also.
"Leon hasn't left your side until you woke up yesterday. After he talked to you, I finally got him to come home and get some decent sleep."
"How long have I been in here?" she asked me next.
"You've been in here for 6 days honey." Sarah's eyes popped with astonishment and then she rolled her eyes at me.
"Guess I did a number on myself, huh?" she whispered and then began to laugh but I could see that the pain made her wince.
"Shh, girl! Don't try to be funny." I shushed her giving her a tiny grin. "You still got a few tubes in your side and your arms." I said, pointing to the ones still sticking out of her upper torso, under her left arm, and to the IV in her right arm.
Suddenly Sarah's face grew serious. "Mia, there was a silver briefcase that I had in the car-"
I reassured her, saying "V got it out for you and Leon has it in his room. It's safe."
Sarah sighed with relief and slowly blinked away the panic of losing the case.
Looking into my eyes, she whispered softly "I don't really want to see Leon right now Mia. I know he hasn't left my side, and I love him for that, but right now I just can't deal with him, and all the lies, and the crazy shit and ---" Her whisper trailed away as her eyes began to glisten with tears.
"Oh Sarah. I'm so sorry. I understand what your saying. He feels like hell about all this too." I told her.
After a pause, I continued whispering. "I tell you what. I'll try to get him out of here for a bit. It will give you a little rest, but I know he doesn't want to leave you for long, so it may not be easy."
I thought for a minute as I looked into her pleading eyes. Suddenly I had an idea.
I whispered to her, "Pretend to be sleeping and, I'll see about persuading him to leave for at least a little bit."
She nodded with a grateful look and closed her eyes gently. I waited for a minute or two before I quietly walked around to the other side of the bed and put my hand gently on Leon's shoulder. I leaned my head down close to his ear.
"Hey you." I whispered as I shook his shoulder softly. Leon's eyes flew open, but didn't focus immediately. When they did, he immediately checked Sarah over and after a moment he moved to unfold himself from the chair quietly and stretch.
"Hey Mia." he said in a soft voice. "She's still asleep?" he asked as he looked back to her and searched her face again.
"Yeah. I didn't want to disturb her. Why don't you go get the two of us some coffee and stretch your legs. I'll take over the watch for you for a little bit, and you can get me a cappucino downstairs" I suggested. Leon turned his head back to me.
"It's really important that I talk to her Mia." Leon told me. "There's something the doctor hasn't told her yet. He wanted me to tell her --"
"I already know." I interrupted quickly. Leon drew in a breath sharply and his eyes grew wide with anger and shock.
"How did you --" his voice began to rise.
I wrinkled up my face and shushed Leon quietly. I continued, "Doctor Solomon accidentally told me. He assumed that since all of us seemed so close, that I just knew." Leon stared at me, stunned. I whispered to Leon again, repeating my words. "He just thought I already knew Leon."
Leon lowered his head and let out a deep sigh. We both stood quietly, thinking. Then he looked up at me, his face sad and concerned, his eyes wet with unshed tears.
"How do I tell her Mia? I.How in God's name can I tell her something so serious like this?" His eyes searched my face as he whispered to me.
"Oh Leon. I don't know." I replied with sympathy.
We stood in silence a little longer and then I asked him, "Leon? What if I tell her? Maybe it would be easier to hear this from me -- another woman. You know? I will tell her what the doctor said happened, if you want me to. Do you want me to tell her?"
Leon let out another ragged sigh, before running his hands through his hair. Looking at me again, he held my eyes as he thought about he should do. After a long moment, he closed his eyes and nodded yes. When he opened his eyes, I nodded my head o.k. Leon walked over to Sarah lightly traced the outline of her face while placing a tender kiss on her forehead, before he turned to leave. Before he left the room entirely, I stopped him briefly and hugged him hard. When I let him go, he gave me a rueful smile and slowly walked out of the room.
When I finally turned back to Sarah's bed, I was greeted with her wide-open eyes filled with fear and dread.
"Tell me what?" she demanded in a harsh whisper.
*********** Leon's POV ***********
Before getting the coffee, I stopped downstairs for a smoke break. All this was so much harder then I could have imagined it would be. I decided to sit outside for a while. The morning air felt good, and I wasn't in a hurry to return to the grief that I would probably find on Sarah's face. I stayed outside for about fifteen minutes before I went to the cafeteria to get coffee for Mia and I.
I stopped at the gift shop, and saw a small bouquet of yellow and white roses, laced with honeysuckle flowers and little ferns. I felt a smile return to my face as I inhaled the sweet scent. God I loved Sarah. Wait! Did I just say that? I couldn't possibly be in love with her! Its only been a month since I first saw her. Love doesn't hit that fast.
As I stood in the gift shop staring at the bouquet in my hands, I looked up and saw my reflection looking back at me from the glass in the flower case. I was startled by the guy looking back at me. I was clean, but my hair needed a cut and kind of stuck out in different directions; my shirt clean but pretty wrinkled; I'd lost weight, so I looked a little thin; I'd been inside so long I was getting pale; and, there was this odd smile on my face as I held this bouquet of delicate flowers in my large hands. I looked pretty funny to me when I saw myself. Damned old coyote, Vince! He always knows how to read me. Hell, he saw the signs days ago, but I was too pissed to hear him clearly at the time. I laughed at the fool in the reflection.
After I paid for the flowers, I took them and the coffee back upstairs. I passed the nurse's station with a quick nod and approached Sarah's room. As I got closer, I slowed down. I began to fill with dread again. I slowed to a stop just outside the room and took a few deep, slow breaths to pull my shit together. That was when I heard soft crying. My heart dropped to my feet. I could hear their soft voices filled with tears. Sarah's breathless sobs ripped at me, but I didn't want to walk in yet. I was afraid of making things worse. I stood frozen to the spot and I could hear their murmured words.
"Sarah, it'll be ok. You're going to be fine." Mia said in a little voice.
"Mia, I'm just . I don't understand!" Sarah's said hoarsely, "How far along did the doctor say I was?"
"Doctor Solomon told me it was 6 or 7 weeks along honey."
After a moment of silence Sarah began. "That was about two or three weeks before I. ..
There was a longer silence and then Sarah gasped. "Oh dear God!"
I stopped myself before I could rush through the door to respond to the shock and upset in her voice. Instead, I took the chance of looking carefully around the corner of the doorway and was in just in time to see Sarah's face crumple in pain. She turned her head into her pillows and let out a small wail of hurt and sorrow.
I saw Mia lean forward in concern, stroking Sarah's hair and speaking gently to her.
"Sarah, what's wrong? What happened two or three weeks before? Talk to me please?"
Mia was trying hard to get Sarah to talk; to tell her what had happened and why.
Sarah turned her head to Mia and said in her tearful hoarse whisper, "Oh Mia. God help me!" she gasped. "Two and a half weeks before I left, Anthony beat me really bad. But -- but. that's wasn't all." and Sarah let out a strangled sob.
I pulled back from the doorway, my fists clenched in anger, when I heard her tell of the beating she got from Anthony. I took a deep breath, trying to hold back my anger and concentrated on hearing what else Sarah would say.
"I don't understand Sarah." Mia pleaded. "Did he rape you? Was it. Was this Anthony's baby? Sarah honey. You cannot carry this kind of thing around inside like this forever."
A long silence was broken only by Sarah's sobs. Damn it! Nobody was talking anymore. I wanted Sarah to talk! What had happened to her? What? It was everything I could do to I force myself to stay outside the room, in the hallway.
"I don't know." I heard Sarah finally whisper.
Mia's voice said kindly, "Please, tell me what happened Sarah. I don't know how to help you if I don't know what happened honey."
Another quiet moment and then I heard Sarah ask. "Mia, did you know the team ran a background check on me?"
Shit. I didn't like where that was going. I made a few shuffling noises outside and then I walked into the room with the flowers and slowly crossed to Sarah's bed as if nothing special was up.
"Hey Sarah." I said trying to behave as if I was o.k., but the look on her face, brought up my guilty feelings again.
Glaring at me through her tears she demanded. "I need to know why Leon. Why did you do it to me?" She looked hard at me, with hurt as I placed the flowers on the table next to her. I searched my mind for the right words to say.
"The team had to know you weren't a threat to us." Mia said quietly.
Sarah's head turned quickly to Mia and she stared at her in disbelief and anger. "So you knew about all of this?"
"Most of it yeah." Mia answered. "I'm a part of the family -- of the team, so I knew what was being done." she said with some shame.
Sarah huffed in frustration, causing a sharp pain in her side. She yelped in pain and fury. Her head moved back and forth as she stared at each of us with a combination of contempt and hurt.
"We can't talk about this anymore today Sarah. We'll have to talk more about this later. Your doctor isn't going to like it if we get you more upset." and then she looked over at me in desperation.
Catching the look, Sara asked coldly. "Does he know what you just told me Mia?"
Mia stared at me with a dumbfounded look. Sarah's question had taken her by surprise and she really didn't know what to say. I just turned my head to Sarah and nodded my head yes as I looked in her eyes.
"The doctor told me." I said to her. He thought it would be good for you to have support from all of us while you are recovering from everything." Sarah's wail of anger and pain made my insides twist and lurch. A nurse came flying into the room in response to the noise.
"What's going on here? What are you doing? You can't upset her. I have to ask you to leave now." said the nurse grabbing my arm and ushering Mia and I out of the room.
"Wait! No! Please, nurse" Sarah begged, to stop the nurse. She paused to catch her breath for a moment, watching the three of us stopped in the doorway to her room. "It'll be o.k." she said as she labored to catch her breath. Sarah continued to gasp, trying to get her breathing under control, when suddenly a realization crossed over her face. Terror flashed in her eyes. "I. I can't breathe." she gasped.
"That's it! You have to leave while we get her stabilized! The nurse gave us a final push out of the room. Mia and I stumbled into hallway while another nurse rushed past us, into the room. Poor Mia's face was puffy from crying. I felt ashamed that I had been eavesdropping on Mia and Sarah, so I played dumb.
"What did she say when you told her she lost the baby Mia?"
"Oh Leon!" she said as she folded up, falling against me in tears again. I just held her and smoothed her hair patiently.
"It's ok. Shhh Mia. It's gonna be ok." I told her.
She finally looked up at me. "No, it's not Leon. That.that.pig raped her." I felt my jaw clench again immediately and my anger and blood began to boil.
Mia began to ramble, talking mostly to herself. "I know there's more to her story, but she never finished telling me. What could there be? What could be worse then that? God, didn't that bastard put her through enough?"
"We'll take care of her. Mia I swear to God!"
" I know you'll take care of her. I know you love her Leon." I looked at Mia in surprise. Christ! Was it so obvious to everyone but me? What was happening to me? I had never let any women affect me so deeply. Mia and I waited in the hallway outside Sarah's room until the nurses came back out.
"You two go home please. She has recovered her breath and we've sedated her so she will be forced to rest." said the senior nurse. If you get her worked her up like that again though, we will be forced to remove you from her visiting list. You need to understand. Any added stress will be detrimental in her recovery." Before either one of us could answer, the nurse huffed away, taking the other nurse with her. Mia and I looked at each other in shock.
I growled. "I wasn't purposely trying to upset Sarah! What the hell is wrong with that bitchy ---" "Leon don't. Don't waste your time or energy. Let's just go back to the garage, for now, okay? We can try visiting hours again later tonight."
The garage. Hell, I hadn't been there in a week. My car had been sitting there rotting away. Jesse was cool about me using his car all week. He just caught rides with Vince for the most part. As I followed Mia back to the garage, I wondered what was in store for me there. I knew I needed to talk to Dom. I had blamed him for everything that had happened, when it was really all my fault. I knew had I made him feel like a piece of shit, but misery loves company man. I had made it a point to make him as miserable as I was. Now it was time to set things straight. ******************************************