Disclaimer: Not Mine

Author's Note: So here's the last card left in the deck ;)

This chapter isn't as long as the others but I didn't want to combine it with anything else. I think it deserved to be on its own.

Hope you like.

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"Baby if you could jus wait for me at the house..." Vince commented as he and Sonya made there way to the garage.

She frowned up at him, "Why?" she asked, then with a small smile added, "Do you have a hooker waiting there for you and you don't want me to know about it?"

Vince nodded in all seriousness, "Yeah, two actually, maybe three depending on how fast one of'm drives. So if you could..."

Sonya was already opening the door and sauntering inside, "No hooker but I did find a disgruntled mechanic," she said as he walked in.

She was standing in front of Dom, who was sitting -- or rather slouching into a chair with a beer in his hand.

"This family drinks too much," she said happily, before removing the beer from his hand.

He scowled at her, standing, "Give that back," he hissed, his fists clenched.

She glared up at him, "I may be an emotional basket-case sometimes, Dom, but I grew up with four older brothers and two male cousins... make no mistake I can drop-kick you right here," she hissed back.

Vince came up behind her, nodding, "She sure as hell can, man. Trust me she's done it to me."

Dom glared at her again, before shrugging and moving around to the cooler, "Keep that one then, I got more," he said, proving it by pulling one out, removing the cap, and bring it to his lips.

She sighed, "Hopeless," she muttered handing the one in her hand to Vince, who shrugged and took a swig out of it.

"I bet Mia could use help with that barbecue..." Vince cooed after a second, looking at her pleadingly.

Sonya chuckled, looking from Dom to Vince, "Kay, kay I get it. I'm leavin but next time you threaten me with hookers you better be able to deliver..."

Vince couldn't help it... he grinned at her retreating form.

How a girl like that could be interested in a guy like him was something he didn't like to think about... no use looking a gift horse in the mouth.

She was; and that was good enough for him.

He turned to look at his friend and found Dom staring at him with a look of awe on his face, "Shit, you really love her don't you? She's like your true love and shit..."

The grin on Vince's face transformed in a scowl, "How the hell would you know?" he growled at a now startled Dom.

Dom met the angry look with one of confusion, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You wouldn't know true love if it bit you in the ass..."

Dom blinked, "Wha - "

"It actually has bitten you in that ass and you still don't see it!!" Vince nearly roared at him.

Dom's look hardened, his eyes turned to ice. He very carefully set the beer down, before taking a menacing step forward, his fists clenched, "If this is about - "

Vince cut him off, taking his own confrontational step forward, "Yeah it is. Maybe Brian is scared off by the threat of a few punches but I sure as hell ain't."

Dom remained silent, his knuckles white, his eyes so dark you couldn't see the pupils... he didn't need this shit right now.

"If you wanna beat the shit outa me, fine. But I'm gonna have my say first!" Vince continued, completely ignoring the warning in his friends demeanor.

"LEAVE IT ALONE, VEE," he grounded out through clenched teeth; using all his self control to not put his fist through his friends face.

Vice rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, "All bullshitting aside Dom, your fuckin up your life...." he stated with less heat but no less conviction.

"How do you figure?"

"'Cause she's if for you Dom and you know. You're just bein too freakin stubborn to admit it."

Dom's glower if possible turned even darker, "Your wrong," he said darkly.

Vince took another small step forward, proclaiming angrily, "NO, YOUR WRONG."

It was enough.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He couldn't listen to yet one more person spout off theory on how to fix his life.

He swung at Vince, but the man had decades of experience dealing with Dom and had been expecting it.

The blow had hit nothing but air.

That didn't deter Dom though, he was furious, no longer thinking only reacting.

The men swung at each other and soon they were on the ground, trying to strangle the life out of the other.

They rolled around, knocking over tool boxes and running into machinery. Putting each other in choke holds and yelling out obscenities.

In ten minutes they both had busted lips, bruised faces, and were panting for breath.

After knocking the cooler over and rolling over the beer bottles which shattered -- making it so that they were rolling over glass they both realized they should probably get up off the floor.

So they did, only to swing at each other some more.

"Your. Wrong." Vince said, struggling with Dom's chokehold, "You. Know. That."

"NO VEE, I DON'T!!" Dom growled as he released the man, his eyes shooting daggers at him, "What I do know is that every freakin person around me seems to know what the fuck is best for MY LIFE!!!" He finished yelling.

"That's becuase you refuse to see. You make up your mind and that' that,"

Dom didn't respond.

So Vince continued, both their breathing was ragged and on more than one occasion they'd spit blood onto the floor, "You don't admit when your wrong."

Dom still remained silent; and Vince decided to take his chances.

He walked over to the man, stood in front of him again and met those dark eyes, "She's it for you Dom. She's what Sonya is to me, what Mia is to Brian. And you used to know that," he said softly.

Then cringed waiting for the next blow.

It didn't come though, instead Dom hissed something under his breath, before running a hand over his head and turning around.

They both let the silence stretch.

After a while Dom turned around, "What the hell do you want me to do, Vee? She's getting married."

Vince grinned, or tried to, his face was in a lot of pain right now, "A little detail like that shouldn't stop you."

Wiping the grin off his face he added seriously, "That girl's in love with you Dom. She's always been in love with you. Since she was like 11. All you gotta do is remind her."

Dom met his eyes, the idea beginning to take shape in his mind.... Letty....him and Letty....together....

He shook his head though, "No, no, Vee," he said stubbornly.

"Why not?"

Dom paused, then said softly, "Because Mia asked me not to screw up her life and I'm pretty sure that's what I'd do. That's what I always do."

Vince glared at him, "Shit, bro, it's not like it happens by accident, just don't play her and everything'll be fine."

"No Vee, it's not like that, its - "

"I'll tell you what it's like, bro," Vince interrupted him yet again, "It's like, this is your second chance and your blowin it cause you too chickenshit to put yourself out there and admit that she's got power over you. 'Cause the great Dominic Toretto ain't accountable to no one, right? That's why you screwed all those whores, right? To prove, that sure, Letty was your girl, but she didn't own you. Well, newsflash, dumbass, that girl owns you mind, body, and soul and the sooner you accept that the sooner we can all get back to normal."

He hadn't raised his voice, hadn't so much as pushed him a little. But Dom felt as if his best friend had just hit him in the head with a two-by-four. The breath left him.

Was he scared of Letty? Of what she did to him? Of having no control when he was with her?

Turning around quickly he began pacing the garage.

His mind a whirlwind of thoughts and images.

The finality of which came down to one thing --- the woman owned him mind, body, and soul.

Facing Vince again, after nearly wearing a hole in the garage floor, Dom stated his one last argument.

The one thing that stood between him and accepting that he wanted Letty and should make a go for her.

"My kid needs his mother, Vee, he needs a mother. I can't just ignore that."

Vince met his gaze and Dom swore that man looked almost amused.

Walking up to his brother, Vince put an arm around the guys shoulders, "Shit, bro," he said, "...you don't gotta go thousands a miles away to find your kid's mother... just open your eyes.... and see what's right in front of you."

With that Vince exited the garage, feeling like he'd done everything he could.

Everyone had done everything they could.

It was all up to him now.

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Dom stayed in the garage another hour. Trying not to think and failing miserably.

He picked up the stuff off the floor, massaging his jaw and rubbing a few other achy spots on his body.

What the hell did Vince mean... see what it's in front of you.

His head was starting to hurt, along with the rest of him. It might be a good idea to just go for a drive... a nice long, fast one.

He didn't want to go face anyone yet.

Stepping outside, he began the short walk to the house. The sky was losing it's bright blue color -- now it was a pale gray... threating rain.

He sighed, this day just got better and better.

He smelled the coals burning a few blocks away, and groaned, another barbecue. He didn't want to be faced with every memeber of his family right now.

He took his time walking to the backyard, not bothering to go into the house first.

Mia was going to freak when she saw him... she probably had already freaked when she saw Vince.

Rounding the corner slowly, his thoughts a little muffled, he looked around.

Everyone was there.

But he didn't really see that, didn't really notice... because the moment he'd rounded the corner his eyes had been drawn to the far side of the yard.

A small grassy patch...

And everything else faded away, nothing else existed but what he saw on that little patch of grass.

His son was laying on his stomach, Letty at his side; a coloring book between them and seemingly hundreds of coloring supplied littered around them.

She was smiling at him...

... ruffling his hair...

He was grinning at her...

... leaning his head against her arm....

And their was love in their eyes.

Love for each other.

Letty loved his son.

His son love Letty.

The realization made the world spin, it rocked him to very core of his being. Dashing every single excuse, every single argument, every single thought from his mind, everything except the words of friend.

You don't gotta go thousands a miles away, Vince's words began ringing in his ears.

...your kid's mother...

...just open your eyes....

...see what's right in front of you...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-

What's right in front of you...

Your kid's mother....

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The world around him stopped

...he couldn't think....

... couldn't so much as breathe...

...but finally...

... he could see...

....finally he saw....

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