Disclaimer: own nothing
Mia had cried in her sleep again. She knew the instant she opened her eyes that her tears had bled out of her dream and onto the pillow. This wasn't the first time it had happened and every time it did it was always the same. Stood in on that dust scrubby bank at the side of the road; on one side Brian, a helicopter whirling out of sight above him spiriting Vince away, waiting for what she'd do, his eyes full of apprehension and sadness like he knew already and on the other side Dom, screaming at her to get into the car, blood staining his shirt, Vince's blood. She'd made her choice. Her family
She got out of bed with a sigh, rubbing the tears absent-mindedly from her cheeks. There was no time for crying, she'd done that last night in Letty's arms, allowing herself to let it all spill out. Now she had to be strong. Someone had to keep the pieces of this family together when Dom wasn't here. That person was Mia. His sister. She had lots of things to do. The day was hot again, was it every anything else in Mexico? She dressed quickly and made her way downstairs to begin cooking breakfast.
She expected Leon to be collapsed in some corner of the front room with the TV still on from the night before, surrounded by empty bottles. He wasn't. Puzzled, Mia looked in the other rooms in the house and then out of the window. She could see Letty's legs lying out flat from underneath the car as she worked on the underneath but no sign of Leon. Sighing, she went downstairs again, checking the front room. When she looked outside again, she saw him
The popped hood of the car had kept him out of sight but now Leon stood up straight, stretching out. He turned his head, listening to something Letty had said to him. To Mia's astonishment, Leon smiled, really smiled and laughed. She closed her eyes, drinking in the sound. She'd missed it. She'd missed all the laughter and jokes they all usually shared. Things had skeetered downhill too fast so that now she didn't know what shape the family was in. It was relieving to have a piece of normality back. She was glad that Letty had got Leon back into the car, that was definitely back to normal for him.
She turned back to the kitchen and began preparing a big fry-up, nothing healthy for the street racers. She remembered Dom telling her that a long time ago when she'd first started cooking for them, it was one of the first things she'd learnt. Her smile darkened as she remembered Brian drying the dishes for her the first time he'd been to the house, she'd been touched that he'd even bothered considering that no one, not even Letty, ever did. It been comfortable, that had been when she'd realised he was different. And that he belonged.
Tears started to form again. She angrily brushed them away. All she had were memories and they were all she was gonna have. She was gonna have to learn how to deal with them otherwise it was gonna be even harder for her to move on. The sad thing was, she didn't know if she wanted to.
*
"Ey Leon! Pass me the wrench will ya?" Letty called from her position lying underneath the car.
The wrench fell with a dull clang beside her. Letty reached out without looking and grabbed it, immediately beginning to use it on the underbelly of the car
"Thanks man" she called
"It's ok"
She smiled to herself. Leon was sounding more like himself. She'd found him earlier today in the kitchen, a glass of juice in his hand, looking out the window. Watching and waiting.
"What you lookin at Leon?" she'd asked
He'd turned smiling and drained his glass of juice. He looked like he'd actually had some sleep and not just fallen into a drunken stupor like most nights after trying to blunt the razor edge of pain of losing Jesse.
"He's gonna be here today Let" he'd said "he's comin home"
Letty knew who he was talking about and tried not to look excited. Leon could probably see in her face that she was. He'd hugged her briefly then pulled back, dazzling her with a smile
"How's my ride doing?"
"Still needs some work" she'd replied "wanna help?"
"Hell yeah, I miss it"
So they'd gone out and started working. Soon Mia would be calling them for breakfast and they'd eat in the hot sun. Letty slid out from under the car smiling. Life was good. She hadn't realised it but it was. Leon was recovering from the loss of Jesse, they all were but Leon was definitely looking better. Mia still missed Brian but that would fade as would the pain. She'd never see him again anyway. And Letty? She was still watching and waiting but that would end soon. Her man was coming home, Leon was right she calculated, it had been the right amount of time for Dom to be here very soon at the rate he drove at. She turned to scan the horizon, catching some smells on the breeze as she did and smiled. Mia was cooking the breakfast all right and it smelt damn good. It always did. Mia deserved a medal for all the cooking she did for Team Toretto now and in the past. It was her role, she didn't mind too much, just got pissed when someone didn't help with the dishes. Dom was proud of her
Letty narrowed her eyes against the sun, watching again, her eyes trained on the road. Leon didn't look up; he had gone back to working on the engine. Letty could hear him, muttering under his breath as he worked. She couldn't make out what though. She shaded her eyes against the sun, watching, waiting. She was consumed with it and nothing else. He was coming back today.
A trail of smoke began on the horizon. She could see it clearly against the pale blue sky. It was making its way slowly along the road. It was making its way towards the house. Towards them. Letty couldn't stop the wide white smile from spreading across her face. It had to be. Hardly anyone came down here since it was a way from town, only people who had a reason came down here. She couldn't keep it in any longer. She turned and hollered towards the house
"Mia! Dom's coming home!"
*
Harry didn't want him to go. He thought it was really bad idea
"Brian, are you kiddin me? They'll be cops everywhere in that hospital to make sure that he doesn't get out early, they see you, there's gonna be trouble"
"I know Harry but I think I should go see him, he needs to know what's happened"
"He hated you then Brian and he's gonna hate ya even more now, you took away Mia from him and not only that, you lied to her and broke her heart"
Pain sliced through him at Harry's words, remembering the desperate look on Mia's face when she stood between him and Dom. She'd chosen Dom. But she'd loved Brian
"I want to help him Harry"
"Oh really? Ya couldn't stand him before and now suddenly you wanna help him? I ain't buying it Brian"
"He's gonna get arrested after he recovers, they're gonna pin all the charges on him just to clean up the case"
Harry had looked at him in disbelief. Then sighed, running a hand over his head
"Fine, you wanna go, you go but you ain't getting paid for the time you take off"
Work had been good so far. He felt at home among the cars and their parts, supplying the racers with their needs. Some of them talked to him, others just ignored him and went straight to Harry. He hadn't seen Edwin or Hector yet but he knew he would soon. They couldn't stay away forever.
Now he was stood at the door to Vince's room. Vince seemed out of place in his hospital bed, among all the crisp clean whiteness. The surgeons had gone a masterful job on repairing his arm, fine prominent scars wound their way through the elaborate tattoo on his shoulder and ran down to his elbow. Vince was sleeping but he didn't look peaceful, just blank. He wasn't comfortable where he was, even in sleep
Brian had thought a lot about Vince after Dom had driven away. Vince was the one who'd seen through him immediately and knew he was a cop; he'd known Brian wasn't who he seemed. That had unnerved Brian, knowing that someone could see through his persona. Worse, Vince had been in love with Mia. Possessively in love. Even though he'd never been with her, no one else could be. Brian had broken through that and Mia had let him. That had enraged Vince. Mia had wanted Brian, not him
And now Vince lay in a hospital bed, waiting to be arrested. Luckily the police hadn't put a guard on him considering he'd recently been in surgery. Brian wondered how he was gonna tell Vince he was right all along and that the others had gone to Mexico without him. Would he take his anger out on Brian? Probably, he deserved it. Vince had never liked Brian on principle and he sure as hell wasn't gonna like him after this. It was going to be hard but Vince deserved to know what had happened while he was out before he was arrested and asked questions
Brian sighed and turned from the door. He'd come back later when Vince was awake, he felt uncomfortable just standing there waiting for something to happen. He'd told the nurse he was Vince's brother. She'd believed him, he'd looked frantic enough. As he turned to go, a single sound stopped him. It was croaked rather spoken but had enough venom in it to stop him in his tracks
"Cop"
*
He could see the house now. Just. It was a tiny speck on the horizon, the sun bouncing off it. He had something to aim towards now. The pain was lessening in his shoulder though he knew that Mia would make him sit down and let her check out his injuries. It made him smile.
The sun was still hot, burning into his skin. He'd put on a pair of sunglasses so that he could see the road. He was nearly home now. TV. Food. Drink. Leon. Mia. Letty. He didn't have long to wait and he'd be with the people he needed to be with.
What would he tell them about the car? He frowned, thinking about it. They'd know it was Brian's, they'd ask where he'd gone, where was Dom's father's car, where was Vince. What would he tell them about the car?
"I owe you a ten second car"
Yeah, that's what he'd tell them. It was the truth. And he was nearly home now. He smiled, keeping the wheel steady. And he had a lot to look forward.
Mia had cried in her sleep again. She knew the instant she opened her eyes that her tears had bled out of her dream and onto the pillow. This wasn't the first time it had happened and every time it did it was always the same. Stood in on that dust scrubby bank at the side of the road; on one side Brian, a helicopter whirling out of sight above him spiriting Vince away, waiting for what she'd do, his eyes full of apprehension and sadness like he knew already and on the other side Dom, screaming at her to get into the car, blood staining his shirt, Vince's blood. She'd made her choice. Her family
She got out of bed with a sigh, rubbing the tears absent-mindedly from her cheeks. There was no time for crying, she'd done that last night in Letty's arms, allowing herself to let it all spill out. Now she had to be strong. Someone had to keep the pieces of this family together when Dom wasn't here. That person was Mia. His sister. She had lots of things to do. The day was hot again, was it every anything else in Mexico? She dressed quickly and made her way downstairs to begin cooking breakfast.
She expected Leon to be collapsed in some corner of the front room with the TV still on from the night before, surrounded by empty bottles. He wasn't. Puzzled, Mia looked in the other rooms in the house and then out of the window. She could see Letty's legs lying out flat from underneath the car as she worked on the underneath but no sign of Leon. Sighing, she went downstairs again, checking the front room. When she looked outside again, she saw him
The popped hood of the car had kept him out of sight but now Leon stood up straight, stretching out. He turned his head, listening to something Letty had said to him. To Mia's astonishment, Leon smiled, really smiled and laughed. She closed her eyes, drinking in the sound. She'd missed it. She'd missed all the laughter and jokes they all usually shared. Things had skeetered downhill too fast so that now she didn't know what shape the family was in. It was relieving to have a piece of normality back. She was glad that Letty had got Leon back into the car, that was definitely back to normal for him.
She turned back to the kitchen and began preparing a big fry-up, nothing healthy for the street racers. She remembered Dom telling her that a long time ago when she'd first started cooking for them, it was one of the first things she'd learnt. Her smile darkened as she remembered Brian drying the dishes for her the first time he'd been to the house, she'd been touched that he'd even bothered considering that no one, not even Letty, ever did. It been comfortable, that had been when she'd realised he was different. And that he belonged.
Tears started to form again. She angrily brushed them away. All she had were memories and they were all she was gonna have. She was gonna have to learn how to deal with them otherwise it was gonna be even harder for her to move on. The sad thing was, she didn't know if she wanted to.
*
"Ey Leon! Pass me the wrench will ya?" Letty called from her position lying underneath the car.
The wrench fell with a dull clang beside her. Letty reached out without looking and grabbed it, immediately beginning to use it on the underbelly of the car
"Thanks man" she called
"It's ok"
She smiled to herself. Leon was sounding more like himself. She'd found him earlier today in the kitchen, a glass of juice in his hand, looking out the window. Watching and waiting.
"What you lookin at Leon?" she'd asked
He'd turned smiling and drained his glass of juice. He looked like he'd actually had some sleep and not just fallen into a drunken stupor like most nights after trying to blunt the razor edge of pain of losing Jesse.
"He's gonna be here today Let" he'd said "he's comin home"
Letty knew who he was talking about and tried not to look excited. Leon could probably see in her face that she was. He'd hugged her briefly then pulled back, dazzling her with a smile
"How's my ride doing?"
"Still needs some work" she'd replied "wanna help?"
"Hell yeah, I miss it"
So they'd gone out and started working. Soon Mia would be calling them for breakfast and they'd eat in the hot sun. Letty slid out from under the car smiling. Life was good. She hadn't realised it but it was. Leon was recovering from the loss of Jesse, they all were but Leon was definitely looking better. Mia still missed Brian but that would fade as would the pain. She'd never see him again anyway. And Letty? She was still watching and waiting but that would end soon. Her man was coming home, Leon was right she calculated, it had been the right amount of time for Dom to be here very soon at the rate he drove at. She turned to scan the horizon, catching some smells on the breeze as she did and smiled. Mia was cooking the breakfast all right and it smelt damn good. It always did. Mia deserved a medal for all the cooking she did for Team Toretto now and in the past. It was her role, she didn't mind too much, just got pissed when someone didn't help with the dishes. Dom was proud of her
Letty narrowed her eyes against the sun, watching again, her eyes trained on the road. Leon didn't look up; he had gone back to working on the engine. Letty could hear him, muttering under his breath as he worked. She couldn't make out what though. She shaded her eyes against the sun, watching, waiting. She was consumed with it and nothing else. He was coming back today.
A trail of smoke began on the horizon. She could see it clearly against the pale blue sky. It was making its way slowly along the road. It was making its way towards the house. Towards them. Letty couldn't stop the wide white smile from spreading across her face. It had to be. Hardly anyone came down here since it was a way from town, only people who had a reason came down here. She couldn't keep it in any longer. She turned and hollered towards the house
"Mia! Dom's coming home!"
*
Harry didn't want him to go. He thought it was really bad idea
"Brian, are you kiddin me? They'll be cops everywhere in that hospital to make sure that he doesn't get out early, they see you, there's gonna be trouble"
"I know Harry but I think I should go see him, he needs to know what's happened"
"He hated you then Brian and he's gonna hate ya even more now, you took away Mia from him and not only that, you lied to her and broke her heart"
Pain sliced through him at Harry's words, remembering the desperate look on Mia's face when she stood between him and Dom. She'd chosen Dom. But she'd loved Brian
"I want to help him Harry"
"Oh really? Ya couldn't stand him before and now suddenly you wanna help him? I ain't buying it Brian"
"He's gonna get arrested after he recovers, they're gonna pin all the charges on him just to clean up the case"
Harry had looked at him in disbelief. Then sighed, running a hand over his head
"Fine, you wanna go, you go but you ain't getting paid for the time you take off"
Work had been good so far. He felt at home among the cars and their parts, supplying the racers with their needs. Some of them talked to him, others just ignored him and went straight to Harry. He hadn't seen Edwin or Hector yet but he knew he would soon. They couldn't stay away forever.
Now he was stood at the door to Vince's room. Vince seemed out of place in his hospital bed, among all the crisp clean whiteness. The surgeons had gone a masterful job on repairing his arm, fine prominent scars wound their way through the elaborate tattoo on his shoulder and ran down to his elbow. Vince was sleeping but he didn't look peaceful, just blank. He wasn't comfortable where he was, even in sleep
Brian had thought a lot about Vince after Dom had driven away. Vince was the one who'd seen through him immediately and knew he was a cop; he'd known Brian wasn't who he seemed. That had unnerved Brian, knowing that someone could see through his persona. Worse, Vince had been in love with Mia. Possessively in love. Even though he'd never been with her, no one else could be. Brian had broken through that and Mia had let him. That had enraged Vince. Mia had wanted Brian, not him
And now Vince lay in a hospital bed, waiting to be arrested. Luckily the police hadn't put a guard on him considering he'd recently been in surgery. Brian wondered how he was gonna tell Vince he was right all along and that the others had gone to Mexico without him. Would he take his anger out on Brian? Probably, he deserved it. Vince had never liked Brian on principle and he sure as hell wasn't gonna like him after this. It was going to be hard but Vince deserved to know what had happened while he was out before he was arrested and asked questions
Brian sighed and turned from the door. He'd come back later when Vince was awake, he felt uncomfortable just standing there waiting for something to happen. He'd told the nurse he was Vince's brother. She'd believed him, he'd looked frantic enough. As he turned to go, a single sound stopped him. It was croaked rather spoken but had enough venom in it to stop him in his tracks
"Cop"
*
He could see the house now. Just. It was a tiny speck on the horizon, the sun bouncing off it. He had something to aim towards now. The pain was lessening in his shoulder though he knew that Mia would make him sit down and let her check out his injuries. It made him smile.
The sun was still hot, burning into his skin. He'd put on a pair of sunglasses so that he could see the road. He was nearly home now. TV. Food. Drink. Leon. Mia. Letty. He didn't have long to wait and he'd be with the people he needed to be with.
What would he tell them about the car? He frowned, thinking about it. They'd know it was Brian's, they'd ask where he'd gone, where was Dom's father's car, where was Vince. What would he tell them about the car?
"I owe you a ten second car"
Yeah, that's what he'd tell them. It was the truth. And he was nearly home now. He smiled, keeping the wheel steady. And he had a lot to look forward.