Chapter 9

"It's a long story Vince, but I've come to pay my respects to Jesse. He was a good kid who didn't deserve what happened to him." Brian knew that he was taking his life in his hands by coming to Jesse's funeral but he'd genuinely liked the young man and wouldn't have missed the service for anything.

"Come on then man, you can ride with us." Vince caught the looks of total surprise on Chloe's and Brian's faces and started laughing. "What? I mean come on, he saved my life – I can hardly hit him after that now can I."

"Means more to me than you can imagine Vince, thanks man." Brian had expected to come away from his first meeting with Vince with at least 3 broken bones and didn't know what to make of this new gentle and forgiving Vince.

Vince had told Chloe the history between him and Brian and although she'd hoped that he'd be reasonable when he next saw him she wasn't expecting him to be so calm. Pulling his head closer to hers she murmured across his lips 'I'm so proud of you' before kissing him gently. Vince's heart filled with joy when she said that, no one had ever told him that before and it was at that moment that he realised he'd found what he'd been looking for all his life – someone who accepted him for who he was.

The funeral passed without incident, Vince was still upset that there was no sign of the team but he was glad to have Brian there with him. In the limo on the way to the church Brian had explained everything that he'd done for the team and about the evidence that had been misplaced. He told them that he'd quit the LAPD and was no longer a cop. There was no way the FBI or LAPD could prosecute any of the team for anything more than illegal street racing. Brian told Vince that he'd called Dom and told him that the case was closed but he'd refused to come home. He was street racing in Mexico and was making more money than he could have imagined in LA. The overheads were less and the memories weren't as painful.

When Vince heard that Dom wasn't coming back he felt relieved. Relieved that he wouldn't have to face his oldest friend and tell him that he hated him and held him responsible for everything that had gone wrong. They'd all told Dom that the final heist hadn't felt right but he'd insisted on doing it anyway. If he'd listened they would have stood a chance of finding Jesse before Tran and maybe he wouldn't be dead.

The church service was a private family affair – just Vince, Chloe and Brian, but the dedication at the graveside was a completely different matter. The road leading to the cemetery was lined with colourful and expensive race-cars. It looked as if every street racer in the LA area had turned up to say goodbye to Jesse. Vince had always known that Jesse was well liked but seeing all of those cars made him realise just how well liked he was – the mad scientist was going to be missed by the entire street racing community not just Team Toretto.

As the limo stopped at the graveside Hector opened the door.

"Hey man, I'm really sorry about Jesse." Hector had heard the rumours about what had happened after Race Wars but hadn't believed them until Chloe had called him. He'd never spoken to the girl before but as soon as she showed him the photo of her and Vince he knew that he had to help her. Vince looked so happy in the photo and it was clear that she was a friend of at least one member of the team.

"Thanks for letting everyone know Hector; I wouldn't have known where to start." Chloe was overwhelmed by the number of people who had turned up for the burial, she'd buried her parents with just her sister by her side and she was grateful that Vince didn't have to go through that. After introducing Chloe to the other racers and explaining away the rest of the teams' absence Vince, Chloe and Brian lead the way to the graveside.

The dedication ceremony took less than half an hour but for Chloe it was the longest half hour of the day. Jesse's grave was opposite her parents and she kept remembering the day she'd buried them. It had been a dismal day, perfect funeral weather really – it rained all day and was unusually cold for LA. Her sister had been beside her but Chloe couldn't bring herself to take comfort from her, or even talk to her. Her memories of seeing her sister and her husband together were still too raw. She'd been through the pain of burying her parents alone but she wasn't going to let that happen to Vince. Squeezing his hand a little, she snuggled closer into his side. She knew that words wouldn't help but she hoped that he'd take some comfort by her physical presence.

Vince could tell that Chloe was miles away during the dedication. Sure, she had hold of his hand but she wasn't listening to what the priest was being said. He couldn't work out what was bothering her until he realised which gravestone had her attention – Sarah and Peter Barker, beloved parents of Chloe and Nicole - it was her parent's gravestone. He was just about to say something to her when he felt her squeeze his hand and move closer to him. He lifted his arm and draped it round her shoulders, grateful for the comfort she was offering. His life may have changed beyond all recognition after the last heist but he knew that with Chloe by his side things would work out ok.

After the burial Vince, Chloe and Brian headed back to the limo – it was time to go home and make plans for the future. Dom wasn't coming back and they needed to decide what to do about the garage and the store.

A well dressed, middle aged Asian man was waiting by the limo. Chloe and Vince didn't recognise him but Brian did – he was Johnny Tran's father.