Warning: Long Chapter. Probably should have split this in two but decided to just post it this way.

I'm only including the very beginning of the hijacking in this chapter because of the length and detail I want to use for that event.

Thanks for the reviews everyone.

Chapter 54

Around 8am the doctors released the boys from the hospital. Sky took them to see their mom before they left. Leon was still too angry to face his mom. Lois made Sky promise to take care of all three of her boys until she could get back on her feet. Lois swore that she would repair her broken relationship with Leon. After many hugs and kisses Sky and the boys left the room heading for the awaiting car at the entrance to the hospital. Leon helped her buckle the boys into their car seats and then drove them home to LA.

When they arrived the whole team was out front waiting for them. Mia burst out from behind Vince and rushed the car excited to see the children. There was an audible grasp from everyone but Vince when Sky brought Caleb out of the car. His face was black and blue and he could still barely open his eyes. "It's ok guys. They're both a bit banged up. Try not to treat them any different."

Mia stepped forward, "Hello baby what's your name?"

Caleb curled tight into Sky. "It's ok baby. You can tell Mia your name."

"Caleb," he said slightly mispronouncing it so it sounded more like "Caweb".

"My name is Mia." She held out her hand and waited for him to feel comfortable to touch her. He blew her a kiss and giggled loudly.

Leon walked around the car and introduced the team to Nicky. The boy walked up to each member of the team and shook their hands. He was more outgoing than his younger brother. Something about Nicky endeared him to the males of the team. Everyone moved inside and Dom, Jesse, and Vince took Nicky into the living room to find something to watch on TV. Jess chose 'Gone in 60 Seconds' feeling the kid needed to learn about cars right away. Mia took Caleb from Sky and told her and Leon to go downstairs and get some sleep. She could see that neither of them had slept in the last 24 hours. Gladly the two accepted the offer and headed down to Leon's room.

A knock at the door announcing dinner roused Leon and Sky from their slumber. Slightly rested but still exhausted they pulled themselves out of bed and slowly made their way up to the dining room. Nicky and Caleb greeted them with warm hugs and pleads to be picked up. Dom motioned for everyone to take a seat so that he could say grace for a change. Dinner was spent mostly in silence. No one felt like talking or even acknowledging the sticky situation they were in.

Finally Vince broke the silence, "Leon how'd the car handle today?"

"Huh?" Leon was lost in thought.

"The car…how was it?"

"Yeah it's still unloading in third."

"Shit. Jesse can you get to that tomorrow I wanna take it out to the track Thursday?"

Jesse looked up from his plate of food. He was eating so fast he had ended up wearing most of it. "I'll get…" He choked on the food in his mouth.

"Slow down and chew Jess." Sky said getting up from the table. She walked over and patted him on the back to help him clear his throat.

"Thanks. Like I was saying I'll get on it tonight if you like. I'm heading to the shop to put the finishing touches on the Supra. I can yours running 9s in no time."

Dom put his fork down and stood up from the table, "Can I get a set of keys?" His car was still at the shop getting tuned for the races. Everyone offered their keys. He chose Letty's as the car was parked at the bottom of the driveway. No one questioned him as he walked out the door.

He headed for a strip where he used to race in high school. The light was red when he pulled up to the line. The adrenaline pumped through his veins. The sounds around him were deadened, only the sound of the motor flooded his ears. The light turned to green and the car jetted from the line with force. His mind was clear, no worries about family, money, or the job.

It came to an end too soon and his mind became clouded again with problems. He needed the whole team to pull off the job. The cars weren't ready for Race Wars and neither was the team and for the first time he was starting to doubt Brian. Was he a cop? Was this all a setup to take down everything he had worked to build?

Dom dialed the number to the house. It took seven rings before anyone answered. "Hello?" Mia answered out of breath.

"What the fuck is going on there?" He heard screaming and laughter in the background.

"Just playing with the kids Dom, God why do you have to be such an asshole all the time?"

"Cut the attitude Mi. Put Vince on."

Mia handed the phone to Vince and walked away in a huff, "Yeah what ya need?"

"I need you and Jesse to meet me at the garage. We're gonna knock out as many of the cars as we can tonight. I wanna concentrate on the girls' cars first; they're racing Friday night."

"Whatever you think is best. I'll take Mia's and Jess can drive Sky's. We'll be there in ten."

"Good." Dom hung up the phone and headed for the Racer's Edge. Something about Brian was eating at him and he needed to see what the guy was up to. When he arrived a lone light shown from inside the store; Dom banged on the door and waited for Brian to answer.

"Come in." Brian opened the door wide to allow Dom to walk in. "Do you need some parts?"

"No. The reason I'm here Brian is that I need some reassurance that you are who you say you are. Rarely, I give my trust to someone and I have trusted you Brian. You need to lay it all out for me Brian, honestly tell me what I need to know and I'll never question you again, but if I find out you are lying. Do I really need to say what I'd do?"

"No bro. You wanna know everything?" Dom nodded and gestured for Brian to begin. Brian was unprepared for this and decided to be truthful for a change yet leaving out the part where he was a cop trying to take down Toretto. "I was born in Barstow, moved to Tucson when I was three. My dad owned a small gas station near the edge of town. He did small jobs like tune-ups and oil changes. Occasionally he'd take on a big job like an engine rebuild. I spent most of my life in that garage working side by side with him. After-school and weekends were spent there helping out. Life was routine until one night my parents went out to dinner and didn't come home. Instead a sheriff showed up at the door to tell me they were dead."

"What happened, if you don't mind talking about it?"

"They were about half a mile from home when a guy crossed the center line and struck them head on. My mom died instantly and within a few minutes my dad died. The thing is I heard the ambulances drive by my house on the way to the scene. I never thought it was my parents."

"Shit man I'm sorry."

"In one instance my family was gone."

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen. My best friend Roman's family took me in. It didn't take long for the two of us to get into trouble. Decided to take a car for a joyride one night and got caught."

"That's where the two years in juvy come in?"

"Yeah, when I got out I had to do community service and ended up working at a garage. Dude brought in a busted up Eclipse and after many hours of wrench time I ended up here at the Mecca of street racing."

"You and Sky have something in common."

"What the hell could me and her have in common?"

"She lost her parents at the same time."

"What happened?"

"Her dad was a son of a bitch; beat the hell out of her and her mom all the time. Problem was he was a cop and they had no way to escape him. On Sky's sixteenth birthday he shot her, her mom and then turned the gun on himself. Sky was the only one to survive."

"That's why she hates cops so much."

"You got it. She's suspicious of you, thinks you're a cop. Normally I'd go with her but I think she's wrong this time. Is she wrong Brian?"

"I'm not a cop Dom." Brian spoke but he felt as if the words had come from someone else.

"Then I'll never ask again. You have my trust." Dom walked toward the door. "Don't make me regret trusting you."

"I won't," Brian felt sick lying to a man who had become more than a friend to him. Dom was like family to him now.

Friday night rolled around, the last night before Race Wars. The alley was packed when team Toretto rolled in with one additional member. Brian drove in the center of the V. Vince had volunteered to stay home with the boys while the rest of the team went to the race. The crowd cheered as the team exited their vehicles. Dom walked to the front of the crowd to make his announcement, "Tonight the ladies of DT will be handing out the ass-whooping. We're going to have three races. Now who's going to step up and take on these fine ladies?"

Edwin worked his way through the crowd, "Hell count me in. I want a shot at Little Miss Lightning." He pointed right at Sky.

Dom nodded, "Who else wants a shot at Sky? I'm sure she's pissed off someone here." Two racers stepped up. Their reason for racing her was simple; she had beaten them before and they wanted revenge.

Hector and two other members from his crew challenged Letty. Mia's challengers were a couple of girls new to the scene looking to get into their first race. Letty's race took place first. She took a substantial lead from the start and never looked back. Her aggressive racing style earned her the name "queen of the streets" and she defended her honor convincingly.

Mia was not as lucky in her race. She took the hole shot from the line, but soon fell back when she missed third gear. Her slipup was enough to give Edwin's girl Monica the win. Mia slowly made her way back to the line defeated unsure if she had what it took to race like her brother and father.

When Sky pulled to the line for her race she too felt inferior to the racers lined up beside her. She knew how to snake her way through the streets of LA at high rates of speed, but it was an entirely different thing to beat some of the better racers on the strip. She had watched Dom a hundred times beat these guys, but that night her fear was getting the best of her. A man on the hood of a Civic dropped the signal to race. The other racers jumped from the start, but Sky was slow to start. This put her at a disadvantage. Her car was heavier than the others and needed to get out of the start fast. Leon's voice came over the radio, "Come on baby girl. You can beat these guys." She put her foot down on the accelerator and watched the rpms rise. Quickly she passed two of the racers leaving only Edwin in her sights. The finish line was just up ahead and with a shot of NOS she flew past him winning by a couple of feet.

The team had a small, quiet celebration back at the house. They would need to be at Race Wars early the next day.

Race Wars was the premier event for the street racing circuit. It was a chance to show off your car and win a ton of money. Team pride was also at stake as the best team from the weekend had the bragging rights all year. Team DT had won the last couple of years and were not ready to relinquish the crown especially to Tran's team.

Jesse and Vince left early to get the trailers and tent set up. Sky took the boys to stay with Vince's mom for the weekend believing that Race Wars was no place for two little boys. When she arrived back at the house the team rolled out and headed for the desert. The place was already packed when they arrived. Always one for the big entrance Dom had the team form the V once inside the abandoned military base.

Letty and Sky drove straight to the track wanting to get in on some action early before the temperatures hit triple digits. Letty was up first paired against a white Mazda RX-7.

"Hey, hey baby." The male driver called across to Letty. "You should be watching from the side. I wouldn't want to get exhaust on that pretty face."

"How 'bout you put your money where your mouth is?" Letty countered back.

"Well how 'bout I race for that sweet little ass?"

"If you want ass why don't you hit Hollywood Boulevard? You want an adrenaline rush; it'll be two large right here, right now. What's it gonna be?" She showed him her roll of cash.

He pulled his cash out of his pocket, "You got it."

The flag man dropped his hands and the race was off. They stayed neck and neck until Letty pressed the NOS button on her steering wheel. "See ya," she said as her car took off leaving the guy in a cloud of dust.

"Damn girl now that is how you race," Sky called across the radio to Letty.

"You better do the same chica."

"Oh I will." Sky looked over at her opponent. The guy rolled down his window and Sky instantly recognized him. It was one of Tran's thugs in a Nissan Altima.

He looked over at her like he knew he had the race in the bag, "Care to make a friendly wager?"

"What you wanna put up?"

"The car and 10 Gs or is that too rich for your blood?"

"Done, see you at the finish line." Sky mentally kicked herself for putting her car up. She had promised Dom that she wouldn't make any stupid bets since she wasn't the most experienced driver. Unfortunately, her pride got in the way this time. "You can do this." She said over and over again. The guy flew ahead of her early, but she didn't panic. As soon as he hit his NOS, Sky hit hers and sailed past him winning the race and a car.

Brian walked around the DT camper and instead of finding Mia he ran right into Jesse. "Hey Jess."

"Yo Brian what's up?" He replied walking fast to the strip.

"What you got in your hand?"

"I'm throwing down a pink slip just like you."

"A pink slip to what the Jetta, you can't bet your dad's car."

"That's alright I'm not losing. This fool's running a Honda 2000. I'll win and me and my dad can roll when he gets out of prison."

"Well there going to throw him back into prison when he finds out you lost his car."

"Shit I'm up." Jess ran towards his car at the start line.

"Jesse visualize the win. You hear me, visualize the win. Jess you got to listen to me."

"Uh-huh." Jesse's mind was racing and he didn't hear anything around him. Tran rolled down his window and smiled. Jesse flashed the pink slip to the Jetta and strapped himself in.

Brian leaned into the car and tried to reason with him, "Jess don't do this. I bet he's got $100,000 under the hood of that car."

"Yep," Jesse said oblivious to Brian's comments.

The flag man dropped his hands and they racers took off. Sky ran up behind Leon, "You let Jesse race Tran. How much did he bet?"

Leon kept his eyes on Jesse who was keeping pace with Tran, "He bet the pink slip."

"Are you fucking crazy? You let Jess bet his dad's car?"

"Yeah why?"

"Why the fuck didn't you…" She stopped speaking when she saw Tran's car race past Jesse and take the win. "No," her heart felt like it dropped out of her chest. They watched as Jesse took an exit road and heading out of the base.

Leon and Sky ran back to give Dom the heads up. Leon tapped Vince on the shoulder and ran over to Dom, "We got a problem. Look Jesse."

Dom shielded his eyes from the sun and watched Jesse leave the base, "Where's Jesse going?"

"He raced Tran for slips."

"Aw shit."

Tran slammed his brakes in front of the DT tent, "Where's he taking my car?"

"He took it to the car wash."

"Whatever go fetch my car."

"Listen we ain't on your block no more. You better watch what you say." Dom walked away not wanting to get into it with Johnny.

"Toretto, SWAT came into my house, disrespected my whole family cause somebody narc'ed me out and that someone was you."

Dom swung around and caught Johnny squared on the jaw knocking him to the ground. Soon both teams were fighting. Letty took out Tran's cousin, Lance with one punch. The crowd roared when he hit the ground. Security rushed in and separated the teams. Vince and Leon grabbed Dom and walked him away.

Once they were a safe distance from the crowd Vince spoke up, "Think about it Dom, Tran's house gets raided. Don't you remember the DVD players at Tran's garage that Spilner was too interested in? He's a cop, always has been."

"I think Vince's right this time dawg." Leon leaned back against a car motioned for Sky to join him. He wrapped his arms around her.

Dom looked over at them, "What do you think Sky? You're rarely wrong on shit like this."

Sky looked him straight in the eye, "Brian's a cop. He's played us all along."

"I'll take care of him when the job's finished."

4am rolled around and the team mounted up for what they hoped would be their last hijacking. Mia begged and pleaded with Dom not go. She had a bad feeling about this one. The ride to the water tower was quiet. Leon stared at Sky's eyes through the rearview mirror. He had never seen her so worried. They arrived at the tower and Dom jumped out of the car. He ripped the covers off the cars and started barking orders, "We're a man short. Sky get the tranq gun from Leon's car. This job is gonna be like all the rest."

Leon shook his head, "Your sister's right on this one; it don't feel right."

Letty agreed, "We shouldn't be doing this without Jesse or during the day."

"Just get in the cars and let's do this. One last ride and we'll all take a vacation to a Mexican beach." He turned to Letty and spoke softly, "I had a dream about us the other night. Just me and you alone on a beach, one last job and we can have that dream."

The team reluctantly agreed to the job and headed for their respective cars. Sky took one last look back and Leon. She mouthed the words "I love you" and slipped into Letty's car.