Disclaimer: Not Mine.
Authors Note: hi everybody!
Day Two.
Just kidding, I skipped a week. ;)
- Foxy-Latina:
Thank for understanding. =)
- Naughty-by-Nature:
"Jack" is NOT a boring name. It is anonymous. There is subtle difference in connotation. ;) Anyway, he's not really important. (or is he?) As for Dom tying well....he's in a strange car, on a strange street, etc. Don't worry next he'll win. (or will he?)
- CherryRedSi:
Yeah another Dom/Letty fan. I'm glad you like. Miami's great, have an aunt lives there.
- Hiya17735, Vinsbaby1989, HipHopStar, and GreenGlowChasis:
Thanks for taking the time to review guys, you're great. Thanks.
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"Its been almost a week. When do I get to meet these people?" Casey said her petulant voice resounding in the garage.
It was early afternoon and she was off. Everyone else however was working, not that she cared, while she was there she demanded there attention.
"Rome scared them away" Suki said goadingly, smirking at Rome across the engine of a car they were working on together.
"I fuckin said I was sorry. It was a bad day for me, aight!" he said defensibly, before looking back down.
"no yelling please. I get flash backs" Tej joked from a foot or so away.
Casey laughed, "I really, can't believe I missed it"
"it was some show girl" Tej said nodding his head.
"I wanna meet these people...." She repeated after a pause, "I Hafta meet these people." she added looking knowingly at Brian.
"I'm seein Mia today -" he started.
"you see Mia every-fuckin-day" Rome said grinning, obviously entertaining salacious thoughts.
"...you can come wit me if you want." Brian continued as if no one had spoken.
"Nuh- uh I wanna see'm all..." she said still giving him that look that told him she was determined, after hearing so much about these people, to meet them. "Bring'm by tonight."
Brian shook his head, "they aint gonna come. I'm tellin you, everyone was fuckin asses to them."
Casey shook her head, glaring at him, "tell them the empress of the garage is now in residence and will keep every one firmly under control."
Tej made a hump noise and Rome and Suki laughed, "cause they'll have to deal with my wrath if they aren't." Casey added after a moment.
This brought them all into a good laugh, until they remembered the last time they'd incurred her wrath....
"yeah, that's a good idea... bring'm by." Suki said sweetly. The boys agreed wholeheartedly.
"We'll see..." Brian said looking at them warily.
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"you sure a bout that, dawg?" Vince said, as he channel surfed.
"yeah we been having a pretty good week, sleepin, beaches, drinkin, playin cards: we don't need no shit." Leon added, he was playing cards with Jesse.
"I'm sure, there'll be no shit. Not with Casey with there." Brian said confidently. He was watching Vince channel surf, while lying on the bed against the headboard, with Mia in his arms.
Normally he'd be dead by now, with Dom in the same room and all, but he was a little busy on the other bed with Letty in his arms.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Jesse asked.
"She's..." he smiled, "Its impossible to get into a fight when she's around, you'll see."
"This is the twin, right?" Leon queried.
He laughed, remembering his description of her, "yeah"
"I don't think its a good idea." Mia said suddenly, "We all have plans tonight." she added seriously. Pulling away from him a little.
"There not set in stone Mia..." he said a bit surprised at her. He'd thought she'd be the easiest to convince to go to the garage. "we'll just pass by the garage-" he started.
"No, Brian." she said firmly, the room was silent they knew that tone. That was Mia's its my way and its only my way tone.
"Mia -" he started again
"I said NO!!" she said angrily and leaped off the bed and towards her own room.
Brian was stunned a moment, "what the hell was that about" He asked the silent room.
His eyes scanned the room, Jesse and Leon returned to there game, Vince to his TV, when his eyes landed on Letty he found her staring at him, "why don't you go find out." she said, her eyes intense.
He nodded slowly, "You wanna give me a hint before I go in there?"
She cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly but there was no humor in it, "we're on vacation Brian. About how long do vacation's usually last." she said knowingly.
His eyes met hers and it hit him. He nodded, his expression becoming grim. "Thanks."
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She was standing in the middle of the room Obviously waiting for him. He entered slowly, shutting the door softly.
Circling her, he faced her, "We're gonna be leaving soon. Brian." she said immediately.
"Yeah I know..."
"You gonna come with us?" she asked the million dollar question.
He looked at her, "what do you think?"
She shrugged, tears filling her eyes.
"I love you Mia," he said softly. "...this isn't some passing fling for me."
"Its not some passing fling for me either Brian." she replied just as softly.
"That's good." he said smiling. Then said gently, but with determination, "I plan to make you my wife one day, Mia." his voice was serious.
She smiled, her eyes misty, gently she said, "That's good."
He smiled, "What's this thing with you not wanting to go to the garage?" he asked.
She turned away from him. "Mia?" he asked softly.
"I don't see the need for us to cause any more trouble. Your... friends don't like us. That's fine. In a few days we can leave. No harm done." she said turning to him, a bit pleadingly, asking him to let this go.
He didn't, "No Mia, its not fine. They're not my friends, they're family, my family. I want you to know them. " he insisted.
"Well I don't want to..." she started turning away again.
"why not?" he said, following her.
"...because I don't..." she said like a child.
"that not good enough Mia"
"I just don't"
"why?" he pushed, his voice telling her he wasn't going to stop until he knew.
"because..." she started but then hesitated.
"because what..."
"because I don't want to lose my family." she finally blurted out as she went and sat on the edge of the bed.
"what?" Brian asked in confusion, walking over to her.
"I don't want to like your... your, to have them like me." she said hesitantly. Her eyes meeting his. Begging him to understand.
"L.A.'s our home Brian. Dom won't ever leave there and the Team won't ever leave Dom. I can see them all buying house a couple of blocks away. They won't ever leave the garage or each other."
"I know that Mia...." he said softly, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face.
"I don't want Your family to convince you that you should stay here. That you should never leave them. I don't want to..." tears that had been pooling spilled out now, "...I don't ever want to have to make that choice again." she whispered, the tears streaming down her face.
"it almost killed me the first time." she continued trying hard to get her tears under control. "I regretted it with every fiber of my being Brian." she sobbed, "Choosing to go with Dom over you that day. But the thing is that I know if I'd gone with you I would've regretted it just as much..." she couldn't stop the sobs.
In her mind she saw it again, that moment, Dom calling her, Brian looking at her with those eyes.
"Its not a choice I can make." she added after a moment. "I need you all to be together. I can't choose." She wiped her face now, taking deep breaths, "And if your family likes me and I like them - then Miami becomes an option and that complicates everything and I don't want...." the sobs threatened again.
"shhhhh.... baby its alright.... don't cry. Ahwwww Mia don't cry, geez, why didn't you say somethin sooner, love." he chided gently. Climbing onto the bed and holding her close.
Shifting her to face him he lifted her chin with his fingers. "Listen.... shhhh....listen to me... Miami isn't an option. I can't live here. I haven't lived here since I was sixteen. I'm staying here right now but I've got no plans to live here. And they all know that." She sniffled and he added, "Hell, they wouldn't want me here for ever."
She smiled a little.
"Look, Casey is my best friend. On my way from LA to here I called her about seven million times and every time I'm pretty sure I talked about you. I was drunk sometimes so I don't really remember but what I do remember it was about you." he finished, giving her his most charming smile.
"She's just curious." he continued, "As for the guys and Suki they were real asses and want a chance to make a new impression."
"wha...what about Beth?" she asked.
He winced, "Beth is a different story..."
"she really hates our guts? huh?".
"No... not really...I don't know. She hasn't said a word about it. Beth is..." he sighed. "I've caused her a lot of problems. She's put up with a lot of shit from me. But she's reasonable, she'll come around. In time." She nodded.
He smiled, "So we going?" he asked.
She sighed, "I guess, yeah."
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"You're back..." Suki said as he walked in the garage a few hours later. It was about seven now, and they were just chillin out. No work after six was the rule.
"You should'na come back if you didn't bring'm wit you. Casey'll have a fuckin cow." Tej said scanning him.
"He brought'm" Dom said striding in, the rest of the Team following him.
"hey...." Tej said extending his hand. Dom did the same. The others all gave that manly nod.
"CASEY!!" Suki yelled.
"COMING" they heard.
She was gorgeous. Her face belonged on the cover of a magazine, was the entire Team's first thought of Casey Landon. She belonged on the cover of a magazine. Except for the smile on her face, a smile that was too warm, too real to ever be photographed.
With sparkling, brilliant blue in a pixie face framed by wisps of honey blonde hair she did indeed look enough like Brian for them to be twins. A thick blonde braid hung to the middle of her lower back and she wore a sports bra with overalls over them. Her face was flushed and her lips pink and she was striding over with energy in every step.
The entire team was trying to not make it obvious they were staring. The guys because she was drop-dead gorgeous; the girls because there was just something in that smile that made you take a closer look.
They would have been surprised to know that everyone in the garage was used to this reaction. It happened to every one she met.
"your here!" she said smiling, if possible, even wider.
She bounded over to them, scanning them, then pouted a little, "We're missing the little one." she said.
It took them a moment to remember that was what Brian's niece had called Jesse.
"He's outside with Jimmy." Leon said softly. His eyes studying the beauty in front of him. It was more than just physical beauty the girl was literally sparkling.
"oh that's good, he's getting a head start." she said cryptically, her smile still in place. She was looking at him as if he were the only person on the planet.
Her gaze shifted, then, though, and he realized that she looked at everyone like that.
"I'm Casey. And you must be..." she said looking at Vince now, but before he could speak she answered herself, "Vince? right?" he nodded.
"You don't have to act like you don't know them Case." Brian said wryly from where he was standing. She shot a death glare but even then the smiled didn't waver.
She turned quickly to where Mia was standing near Brian. "hi Mia" she said warmly before pulling her into a hug as if they were long lost cousins.
"uuuuhhhh hi." she answered hesitantly.
Pulling away her eyes landed on Dom, "Dominic!" she said grinning. Then called out, "ROME YOU GOT SOMETHIN TO SAY TO DOMINIC?" she yelled.
Rome's head popped up from the game of poker he was playin with Tej. "not really." he said gruffly.
The sparkling blue eyes narrowed and she pouted her lips, "ROMAN...." she said playfully, persuasively, only those that knew her heard the note of warning.
He glared at her but, still, she smiled. He groaned and transferred his gaze to Dom who was glaring at him.
"I fucked up. It was shitty day for me and I acted like an ass." he stopped there. That was good enough for Dom, he was gonna let it go. Casey didn't.
"And...." she said prompting him.
Really, if looks could kill she'd be dead. Silently, the Team wondered what she had on him to make him do this.
"And I'm.... I'm sorry." he said in a barely audible voice.
"Wonderful..." Casey exclaimed.
Then hopped over to Dom. Throwing her arm over his shoulder, no easy task since she was at least a foot shorter than him, she said in a sweet voice, "And you forgive him don't you Dominic 'cause after all you did hit Brian a lot harder and he's fine with that..." he looked down into her eyes and found nothing but a sea of shining blue looking up at him as if he had the answers to every problem.
Her smile a mile wide gave the impression that her whole entire world relied on him agreeing to what she was saying. And suddenly he had the impulse to laugh.
This is what Brian had meant, this is why there was no shit when Casey was around, no one wanted to make her stop smiling. Absentmindedly, he wondered what did happen when she stopped smiling.
"sure." he said firmly, dying to see what she was going to do next.
Immediately, she removed her arm from his shoulder faced them all again, "Wonderful." she repeated with the same enthusiasm. "That means we've got a clean slate. Which in turn means operation Bonding can begin"
The Team watched as the other occupants of the room stopped what they were doing and looked at her in horror.
"Wh...what operation Case?" Brian asked warily.
Looking at the team she said, "Sit, sit, don't just there, come on..." but they didn't really move.
"What operation, Casey?" he repeated.
Smiling, brilliantly, "By this time tomorrow we'll all be one big family." she said happily.
Brian shook his head, "We've got plans. tonight. And tomorrow. And the day after..." With that he began shoving the Team over to the door.
"Geez, Brian don't be so goddamned rude." Leon exclaimed, breaking away.
"Thank you Leon," Casey exclaimed latching onto his arm, "no matter how hard I try I've never been able to correct his manners. Come on over here and have a seat. You too Vince." she said sweetly.
The boys moved to the chairs she was pointing at and Brian sighed, "Just don't say I didn't try and stop it." he said sitting.
"Stop what?"
"An operation." he said dramatically with emphasis.
"What's an operation?" Mia asked softly.
"Well, hun, its a plan and this particular plan has us all being one big family by tomorrow this time." Casey answered
"And if we don't want to be one big family." Letty asked.
"Oh, you don't look happy. Is it cause I touched Dominic? Sorry 'bout that. I'm very touchy. Very much so." she turned to Mia quickly, "In fact just to warn you now Mia, I have this habit of doing stuff like this..." she went over and still facing them, dropped herself onto Brian's lap, her back to him. "I'm gonna try real hard though, to stop cause your the one so we have to be like really, really close. You know in keeping with the spirit of one big family."
"And if we don't want to..." Letty asked again.
Her smile never wavered, "Well your Mia's family and we're Brian's, so I can't imagine why anyone here wouldn't want to. I mean I assume you all value Mia's happiness as much as we value Brian's, and Mia and Brian are like one thing now, so if he's unhappy she's unhappy, and if she's unhappy then he's unhappy. And since we have the power to make Brian unhappy and thus Mia - I assume you all have the power to make Mia unhappy and thus Brian. So it would be much better if were all one big family and made no one unhappy that way they could both be happy and calm forever and live happily ever after - which is what we want for them right? Only the best? the most happiness? - "
She would have continued but Beethoven's 9th symphony interrupted her, "Oh my cell!" she exclaimed and rushed off, "be right back."
The look on Letty's face was priceless - confusion, shock, amusement, "Is it scarier that I understood most of that or that I agree with what I understood?" she asked numbly after a moment.
"is she always like that?" Vince asked incredulously, the girl had the energy of a six year old.
"ALWAYS..." Suki answered, "its disgusting I know."
"Its amazing." Leon corrected, his eyes on the door she'd existed.
"Spoken like a guy whose just met her." Tej said grinning. "Don't worry, man, the effect wears off."
"Yo, Yo peopl we need to be worryin 'bout her op? you know the kinda shit she comes up wit?"
Brian nodded, "he's right. If we unite we can talk her out of it."
"Why?" Mia asked softly, "it sounds like a good idea."
"Yeah..." Letty supported.
"it isn't, nothing Casey labels operation is a good idea." Brian responded.
"I resent that." she said coming back, striding over and slapping the back of his head. Her eyebrows shot up a second later, "Sorry Mia. Next time I'll give you the honor."
She laughed, "thanks."
Brian glared. "Fine what the hell is operation bonding." he said mimicking her voice.
"Well," she started. "I figure we'll start in lil groups. It'll be me, Mia, Suki, and Letty; V, Leon, and Tej; Rome, you, and Dom; and Jesse and Jimmy."
He rose his eyebrows, she nodded, "Yes everybody. I gave careful planning to the initial groups. Anyway, Suki and I are going to show Letty and Mia - Miami - the one you two..." pointing at Dom and Brian. "...won't let them see. Tej and his group are going to go see a race that he's going to organize - aren't ya baby." she said smiling,
He shrugged, "do I have a choice?"
"That's the spirit!" she exclaimed and then turned back to Brian.
"you and the baldies over there are gonna go to Sugars garage and finish putting all that new crap you bought for her on And.... the J boys can stay here and take stuff apart and put it back together again."
She turned in a circle to look at everyone, they were all silent, "sound fun?" she asked.
Still no one answered, Team Torreto was following Team Miami's lead and they all seemed to think that it was best to remain silent.
"Wonderful." she exclaimed. To them all, even though no one had said a word.
"Then at three-thirty in the morning we all meet back here for phase two." she said happily.
"Pha...phase two..." Dom chocked out. This was getting a little out of hand.
She nodded enthusiastically, "you'll love phase two..." she assured.
"What is it? Vince asked her.
"Nuh-uh that's a surprise!"
She was so happy. They couldn't help but smile at her.
"Alright people lets move it. We're on a schedule here!"
"Wait. You mean you want us to do this NOW!" Dom growled. The rest of his team was just as shocked. Team Miami, on the other hand, wasn't.
They had the most resigned expressions on their faces like they weren't just used to this type of thing but they'd long ago forgone arguing.
"of course. Come lets move it people. Letty, Mia... first we have to go shopping..."
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