'WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!?!' Dom shouted, his voice echoing loudly throughout the entire house. Mia was upstairs in her room, crying last time he checked. Tony exhaled deeply, placing a hand on the back of his neck, shaking his head.

'I mean we can't take Letty.' He said softly. Dom was seething. That bitch Maria was gonna beat Letty, and he couldn't do anything? Where was the justice in that?

'But there has to be something we can do!' Dom yelled again, not mad at his father, just angry. Tony nodded gravely.

'There is. But we have to appeal to a court. And after that we can either put Letty in a foster home or she could live here. Permanently.' Dom looked up.

'You serious?' Dom said, pulling out a chair and sitting down slowly. Tony shrugged.

'I'd rather have another mouth to feed, than for Leticia to have to go back to Maria.' He said walking over to the phone. 'I'm gonna call the cops. When they pick up Letty we'll see what we'll do.' He started dialing 911, and Dom stood up, walking into the living room, throwing himself down on the couch. This was messed up. For once, life wasn't doing what he wanted it to, and Dom was left helpless, didn't know what he could do to help. He stared up at the ceiling, listening to his father talking to a cop on the phone. But all he could see was a shadow of Letty's face, staring back down at him from the ceiling.

Then something snapped. And he couldn't deal.

'Dom?!' his father called after him, as he grabbed his jacket and wrenched open the door, walking quickly down the front steps. He had to get to Letty. Now.

Dom began to run down the street and threw open the rusty gate, which fell off its hinges. He ran up the porch steps and began pounding on the front door.

'OPEN UP!' he yelled as loudly as he could. When he heard no answer, he kicked open the door, part of it breaking off with a snap. He walked into the small, cramped hallway, looking for any sign of Letty. He saw Maria sitting on the couch, staring at the wall, her eyes bloodshot, and a needle laying on the cushion next to her.

'LETTY!' Dom yelled up the stairs, looking away from Maria and running as fast as his legs could carry him. He came to a purple door, Letty's door, and pushed it open. Letty was lying on her bed, her arm in a bandage that was poorly wrapped. She looked up at him and her eyes widened a bit.

'Dom?' she asked disbelievingly. Just as she'd decided life was unfair, that it wasn't worth living, here was her knight in shinning armor. 'What are you doing here?' she asked sitting up. She knew why he was here; she just wanted to hear him say it.

'I'm taking you home.' He said walking over to her and picking her up, her head leaning against his chest. 'I won't let her hurt you Letty.' He said quietly as he slowly walked into the small hallway and down the stairs. Maria was still staring at the wall when he walked out of the house, Letty nestled against him and shivering, only wearing a pair of boxers and a big tee shirt.

'DOM! What the fuck were you thinking?!' Tony yelled as Dominic walked in the door, Letty still cuddling into his embrace. She didn't know how to explain it, but when she was with him, like this, she felt untouchable.

'Maria was to hyped to realize I even walked in.' Dom said as he lowered Letty onto the old couch in the living room. Tony looked her over, as did Dom. Not only was her arm bandaged, but she had scratched on her left cheek, looked like someone had swiped her with their nails. She also had bruises on her neck. She looked tired and she had bags under her eyes.

'The police will be here in about ten minutes.' Tony said quietly, silently approving of what his son had done. Letty looked up at the mention of cops. Dom knelt down beside her.

'Letty, I told you I wouldn't let her hurt you again.' He said softly, pushing some hair out of her face. Her eyes widened and looked at him for a moment, before she threw herself forward, latching her arms around his neck, and he could feel her crying again. He put his arms around her to reassure her she would be safe.

'These are tears of joy, stupid.' She managed to say in between sobs. He smiled at her as she laughed at her own stupidity. She began wiping her eyes and lay back onto the couch, breathing deeply.

'I'll go get you some water.' Tony said, and for the first time, Dom noticed that his father was almost as unsure of himself as Dom had felt a few moments earlier. Tony disappeared into the kitchen just as there was a knock at the door. Dom got up and walked to the door. The same sort, red headed officer that had told Letty about her father was standing in front of him.

'Hello again officer.' Dom said stepping back and allowing him to enter. The cop nodded and looked around.

'We believe Leticia may be here.' He said nodding toward the cop car parked at the curb. Dom could see the silhouette of Maria sitting in the back. Dom nodded.

'She is.' He said before leading the cop to the living room. The officer bent down beside the couch and looked at the beaten but smiling latino girl with sympathy.

'Are you alright?' he asked looking over her disheveled appearance. She widened her smile.

'I am now.' She said looking up at Dom. 'I am here.' She said looking back to the officer. He nodded.

'I'm afraid we'll have to take you down to the station.' He said standing up. Tony walked into the room, having heard the discussion, carrying a glass of water. He nodded to the officer.

'I'd like to accompany her.' Tony said giving the glass to Letty, who sipped it gingerly. 'I'm Anthony Torretto, I've been taking care of Leticia for the past few weeks.' The officer nodded back.

'I'm coming too.' Dom said firmly. Tony turned to him and shook his head.

'Mia needs someone back here.'

'But dad, I want to come...'

'No Dominic.' He said, his voice calm but with a slight edge. 'You'll see her later. For now Mia needs you more.' That's not true, Letty thought. I need Dom a lot more than Mia does. I need him so much. Letty was starting to understand that the feelings she was having weren't friendly feelings. And they weren't crush feelings either. She was actually falling for Dom. Dominic Torretto. The man she couldn't stand. And now, he was the only thing that kept her standing.

'Fine.' Dom agreed, though it was very certain that he was not at all fine with his father's decision. He glared as Tony helped Letty onto her feet, and she shuffled out of the Torretto home, Tony holding her up and supporting her as she walked. Dom snorted and stormed up the stairs. So he was just supposed to wait at home with Mia?

Not that he had a choice. He'd just have to stay.