Author's Note:

Hello, everyone.

I know it's been a while but I've been busy. I've posted this one and have two more ready to upload and a third written.

So the story is moving along.

I hope you like it.

Reviews would be appreciated.

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"Daddy."

"mmmmmmmmmm"

"wake up."

"uh-huh...yeah....."

"Daddy." Taylor said once again. Now taking his fathers face in his two little hands and shaking it back and forth.

Dom growled, with his eyes closed he reached up and lifted his son off him and deposited him onto the bed.

"Go back to sleep," For once Dom didn't care what time it was. Even after coming to his resolution last night it had been a good three or four hours before he'd gotten to sleep.

For some reason he'd still felt --restless.

Now, he was determined to sleep more, no matter what his son's plans were.

"Can't." Taylor answered seriously, sitting Indian style next to his dad's head.

"why not." Dom rumbled out, refusing to open his eyes.

"don't wanna." he said simply, then continued, "can I's play with Uncle V?"

"No."

"Uncle Leon?"

"No."

"Puh-lease..."

"No."

"can I play with cousin's?"

"No."

Silence.

Dom thanked the gods --car or otherwise.

Knowing Taylor it was probably about seven in the morning which meant he'd only slept for about three or four hours.

And his son would want to play. He'd want Dom to get up and awaken all these playmates he'd mentioned.

He sighed, silently, welcoming the slumber that approached.

"Let?" a tiny voice spoke --effectively chasing away any and all remnants slumber.

"What!?" he said startled into sitting up.

"L'wetty... can's I play withs her?" Taylor repeated his question, his dark eyes mirroring innocence as he looked up into his fathers'.

"No, I mean... she..."

LETTY?

Dear god what the hell was this!!

Was she fuckin everywhere!!!

"...I don't think.... she's not here." Dom finished, unsteadily, taking the easy way out.

Not fully comprehending how or why his son was talking about Letty first thing in the morning.

"uh-huh, she is. But I's been a goods boy dad and I not go out. 'Cause you wouldn'a known where's I was so I stay here. Even though's everybody is having funs I stay heres and be good. I only peak once and..."

"What time is it!!" Dom exclaimed, realizing suddenly that it couldn't be as early he first thought , if everyone was having fun.

Jumping out of bed, he looked at the clock.

It read 11:36 am

"FUCKIN SHIT!" he exclaimed, searching the room quickly for his pants then shoving them on. He was hopping towards the door when he realized-- he had no where to be.

Stopping mid-step, one pant leg half way up, no shirt, no shoes, no shower --he grinned.

He had no where to be.

He could sleep all day.

Then he remembered, "So everyone's downstairs?" he asked his son. As he finished putting his pants on and walked back to the bed.

"yes." he said carefully, eyeing his father. "something bad?" he asked.

His dad often did weird things but this was weird even for him.

Dom shook his head taking a deep breath, "naw, buddy nothings wrong I just... I didn't realize I'd slept so much. I was surprised. You didn't wake me?" he added after a moment, questioningly.

Taylor shrugged, clutching the lion closely as he answered his father, "Auntie Mia said to's let you sleeps." His voice still a little wary.

Dom's eyebrows arched, "Mia was in here."

Taylor nodded, "She knocked. I let in. She said you need sleep. I stay here."

"Did she ask you to go downstairs with her?"

Taylor paused, "Maybe." he answered, looking down, his chin on the lion's mane.

"Why didn't you?" Dom asked, instinctively knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

He was right.

Taylor shrugged, refusing to look at his father.

Sighing Dom spoke gently, "Hey look at me buddy."

He waited till his son's dark eyes were focused on him, "Why don't you like your Aunt, Buddy? She loves you."

"I know. I like her." the boy responded as convincingly as he could.

Dom wasn't convinced, "But..." he prompted.

"I justs wants to be sure." Taylor answered firmly.

Then scrambled off the bed before Dom could question him on his response.

The lion dragged after him. He frowned, not recalling that they'd brought a lion from New York.

As his son opened the door he asked, "Where'd you get the lion, buddy?"

Taylor paused, his foot out the doorway, "L'wetty, gave it to me." he answered without looking back and walked out.

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He wanted to growl. He didn't.

He just stood and went to take a shower. Taking his time, he reviewed his plan, determining that it was exactly what he needed to do and what better proof that it was the right thing to do than that Letty was downstairs right now.

Emerging from his bedroom he was assaulted simultaneously by the smell of burning coals and his nieces.

"Uncle Dom, Uncle Dom, Uncle Dom..." they exclaimed rushing up to him. "You're up." Dolly said her dark eyes shining.

"About time." Jessa pronounced her blue twinkling up at him.

"yea..." he said grinning, he couldn't help it, "I kind of slept in." he added.

"We're havin's a barcue..."Jessa told him, grabbing his hand a pulling him.

"Everybody's here." Dolly told him leading him downstairs and to the backyard.

The scene before him was familiar.

Too familiar.

The familiar sent a pang of pain coursing through him.

They'd been so young -- they'd believed because they ruled the streets that they were powerful, that they had the power to control things.

They'd been so foolish -- they'd believed they were invincible, that nothing could take them down.

But mostly....

They'd been so naive -- they'd thought, they'd truly believed, that they were something special.

Looking around he saw Mia with a platter of something in each hand, laughing at something Leon said. He was sitting at the table demanding to be served.

The scene brought a smile to his face, maybe familiar wasn't all bad, the thought came to him along with a light, uplifting feeling -- of comfort perhaps.

Vince stood next to the grill -- a beer in one hand and head full of dark curls in the other.

The dark curls belonged to a very shapely woman who had her face in his throat.

"Good, your up..." Mia said, "Watch the steaks, cause Vince has his mind on other things."

"About fuckin time, get over here and meet ma' girl..." Vince said after sending a glare Mia's direction.

Dom casually walked over, one little girl still clinging to each arm.

"This is Sonya..."

"Also known as the light of his life...." Mia interjected as she walked by.

"It's nice to finally meet you." the girl said smiling, extending her hand.

She was sweet.

Too sweet. Much sweeter than any girl Vince had ever dated before, or hell even any girl he'd ever shown an interest in.

She had dark brown hair that fell just below her shoulders, big hazel eyes, fine eyebrows, a small nose with a slight smattering of freckles across the bridge of it...

Freckles?

Vince was dating a girl with freckles....

Not that there was anything wrong with them... it's just they made her seem so...

...innocent.

And Vince definitely didn't do innocent....

"Look babe you're so gorgeous he's speechless." Vince said kissing her neck.

The girl blushed, as she lowered her hand slightly.

And Dom continued to stare... she was blushing.

"K, Dom, snap out of it." Mia hissed as she passed by again.

He started a little, "Sorry, mind wandered. Good to meet ya." He said a little absentmindedly, taking her hand quickly.

She shook it, smiling at him, her eyes examining him. And in that moment as she surveyed him from top to bottom, then met his eyes again -- he caught a glimpse of something other than sweetness and innocence that lurked in her eyes.

Perhaps she was more suited to Vince, than she seemed.

"Uncle Dom will play hide and go seek with us?" Jessa asked sweetly, as she tugged on his arm, demanding his attention.

"Please," Dolly added.

"Don't you need some more people to play that game?" he asked.

He didn't want to play.

He wanted to sit in the sun with a beer in his hand and his eyes closed.

He wanted to listen.

To listen to the sounds of home.

He was home

"We gots enough." Jessa said. Releasing his hand and running over to the picnic table, past Leon, to the other side.

The side where his son was sitting....

...with Letty.

He didn't even bother trying to resist Dolly's tugging on his hand, somehow he knew it wouldn't matter.

The cosmos had decided that this day was his apology day. Or at least that's what it looked like.

"Auntie Let, will you play hide and go seek with us and you too, Taylor." Jessa was asking when Dom and Dolly reached the table.

He was in time to see the thinning of her lips, the quick flash of displeasure in her eyes before she masked it with a smile.

"I'm helping your mom with the barbecue girls." Letty said sweetly.

"But we want you to play and so does Taylor, right Taylor?" Dolly stated firmly, without looking at her cousin.

He sighed, he didn't like this habit they had of just expecting him to do things -- things they wanted, without asking.

But he'd promised to behave, "Sure." he said softly.

Letty glanced quickly at the boy, noticing he didn't look very happy, unwittingly her heart swelled with sympathy --the girls could be a little bossy, and it seemed they'd forgotten that their little cousin was a person too.

"Girls why don't you ask Taylor what he'd like to play. He is your guest and I'm sure Uncle Dom wants to get caught up with Uncle Leon and Uncle V, in fact he just met Sonya. Why don't you two play with Taylor for awhile and then later we'll all play together."

"But we want to play with Uncle Dom..." Jessa stated, her bottom lip in a pout.

"But Uncle Dom has other things to do right now, Jessa, so do as your Aunt says." Brian commanded from behind as he sat at the table.

Sighing the girls grabbed Taylor and pulled him away.

Brian smirked, "It amazes me to no end how you can say no and still not say no, Letty." he said.

She smiled, "I didn't say no, I said later."

"And they'll remember that. So you decided to join us." He said to Dom grinning. "have a seat."

As he sat, Letty stood, "I should give Mia a hand."

Dom' s eyes followed her. She was wearing shorts today --showing those long, lean, tanned creations he used to wrap around his waist.

"Not too subtle but gets points for timing." Brian stated taking a drink of his beer, interrupting his thoughts --thank god.

"huh?" he said looking at his blonde brother- in-law blankly.

"She's avoiding you..."

"She's not..."

"She is." Brian finished his gaze firm.

"She has no reason to." Dom responded.

"You comin to the club tonight, Bro?" Leon asked, interrupting the men's soon to be argument.

Dom smirked, "If Mia'll watch the kid."

"If he'll let me." she said taking a seat next to her husband.

"Havin trouble with the mini." Leon asked.

"He won't let me near him. I went upstairs this morning when Dom was asleep, asked him to come downstairs with me, he practically closed the door in my face." she said, trying to make into a joke but still smarting over the outright rejection.

Dom met her gaze, "It's not you. He doesn't take to women as quickly as he does to men."

Mia nodded, but still he could see the sadness in her eyes, he was going to have to have a talk with Tay. It was a pity too, because the boy was behaving excellently.

"It really isn't you, Mia." he added after a moment of silence, feeling the need to explain. "His mother owns his heart."

"Oh." she said softly, nodding. She'd been dying to ask about the mother, and hadn't dared.

"What is she like? his mother?" she asked hesitantly. No wanting him to become defensive.

Dom could have kicked himself, the only topic of conversation he wanted to avoid -- Kara.

And he'd opened the door himself.

No choice now, he thought, as he met Mia's questioning glance.

Smiling gently, he cast his minds eye back to the times when Kara had been well, "She.... she's energetic and fun. She has this scary sense of humor that always takes you by surprise. Always wants to try new things --and take you with her." he said softly, looking down at his hands.

Then looking up at Mia continued, "She's good with Taylor, makes him want to be an astronaut and stuff. Knows how to put a spin on stuff that makes him feel like a man --that's important to a little boy, feeling like he's going to be a good man one day. She makes him feel like that."

"Sounds like she's pretty incredible." Leon said softy, meeting his brother's eyes.

Dom nodded, slowly, "Yeah, she is."

"Where is she?" Sonya asked. Vince had sent her to the table, he and Letty were getting ready to set the food out. She'd sat down in time to hear Dom's description of the woman and wondered why, when he was still so obviously in love with her, she wasn't with him.

Sonya didn't know that you didn't ask Dom questions like that.

She didn't know that you were supposed to wait until he wanted to talk about it.

So she dove right in, "Didn't she want to meet your family?"

"She... uh..." Dom stuttered a little as he looked into clear hazel eyes... her innocent, hazel eyes.

She had no clue that she was intruding into Don't territory.

"She went to... visit with her family in Canada." he finished.

Sonya frowned a little, "And left the kid with you? that's kind of weird isn't it? Especially if he's so attached to her?"

She was leaning her chin on her hands now, her elbows on the table, her eyes intent on this member of her new family that, to her, wasn't family yet.

Dom visible bristled and Mia was about to interject when he answered, "That is none of your business." His tone wasn't offensive or even aggressive, testifying to how much he had changed.

It was, however, serious and brooked no further argument or questioning.

The old Dom would have chewed her apart for questions like that.

Sonya didn't know how lucky she was that Dom had leaned to rear in his temper.

However, she was also not used to being cut to the quick like that. Her hazel eyes flared and she was about to cut back, when she felt a hand on her arm.

Looking over she found Mia's brown eyes hard, her mouth drawn into a thin line, and her head shaking over so slightly back and forth.

Leon and Brian were also looking grim and were rather silent.

"What?" she asked, shrugging off Mia's hand. "I just asked a question."

"One that isn't really your business, Sonya." Mia said softly. "It's not any of ours, not unless Dom wants to share."

Sonya looked at her incredulously, her eyes wide. Never in all the time she'd known Mia, had the woman not asked a million questions about everything.

"For Christ's sake, Mia, V and I go out to get a burger and you interrogate us for an hour -- we have to remember the waitress's name. Your brother comes home for the first time in five years and you don't ask him zip?"

"Okay, everyone, dig in." Vince said happily as he placed two trays of grilled chicken on the table, Letty followed with trimmings.

Immediately, however, both noticed the ominous atmosphere of the table.

"What happened here?" Vince asked, taking in Sonya's shocked, and somewhat angry, face.

She glared at him, a sheen of tears in her eyes, Mia had never reprimanded her --about anything.

"It seems there's an unwritten code of Dom Rules you forgot to fill me in on." She said angrily, before shoving him aside in her rush to leave the table.

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