Chapter 11, yay! Sorry it took so long to pen. I'm back at uni on Monday so I won't have as much time to write as I really really need to get down to some serious animating! So probably I will be adding a chapter once a week, if all goes to plan. Sorry, hope it doesn't put anyone off reading coz I still really need all your feedback! It helps so much!

Anyway, this chapter is my attempt to include Donni in the story a bit more. She was kinda pushed aside a bit, well so are Mia and Tino but I'm working on an entirely Mia chapter coz she hasn't had one of her own yet. Hope it's okay…

tori2085wow! Like a scene from the film! Shucks, you make me blush! What a compliment! Never in a million-zillion years did I think I would get anywhere close to the original feel of the film. Thanks so much!

Nosaparra: thanks for coming back again! Glad you liked the last one. Hope this ones okay!

Okay, well Happy Reading!

Gem

xxx

Chapter 11: The Third Degree.

"So…?" Donni hissed through the corner of her mouth at her young niece working diligently beside her to serve the pasta into equal amounts on each plate.

Frankie refused eye contact with the older woman and stared at the heap of food that she was currently piling onto her father's plate having sensed her aunt's curious gaze. "So what?" she replied with a blasé shrug, playing dumb, and Donni let out a growl of frustration raising her eyes to the ceiling.

"What do you mean 'so what'? Don't you 'so what' me, missy!" she hissed again, knocking her shoulder into Frankie's playfully, drawing the girl's stare unwillingly from the safety of the dish. "You know very well what!"

They fell into a sudden silence and Frankie continued to slop dollops of pasta onto the five off-white plates that were chipped and cracked due to years of usage and being dropped. The quiet tingled like static between them and Frankie knew that Donni was practically writhing beside her, desperate to drag information out of her and she had a pretty good idea who her aunt wanted to know about.

"So…?" Donni said again, unable to contain herself and with a mischievous smirk plastered onto her delicate features. Frankie huffed, turning her dark green eyes to Donni's excited amber ones very nearly rolling them in exasperation.

"So what?!" she demanded again through gritted teeth, placing the plate she was holding down onto the kitchen worktop with a crack of porcelain against granite. "Just spit it out, Donni! You look like you're gonna burst if you don't say something soon."

Donni grabbed her niece's elbow to stop her from turning back to the food and twisted her so that they stood almost eye to eye, Frankie standing a good head shorter.

"So…things seem to be going well with you and what's-his-face?" Donni grinned wider than Frankie would have thought humanly possible and she stifled a laugh, dragging her arm from Donni's vice-like grip.

"Jesse. His name is Jesse." Frankie corrected and immediately regretted it. A spark of speculation set Donni's eyes blazing as she relinquished her fierce grasp and folded her arms across her chest with a raised eyebrow.

"I see…" she muttered with a deviously knowing smirk which dragged another huff from Frankie.

"Whatever, Donni!" she growled turning back to the food and beginning to grate cheese over the top. "You're so…so…pazzo! I'm through trying to stop your strange little mind from creating weird fantasies! Ow!" Frankie hissed and dropped the cheese grater having shredded her fingertip instead of the parmesan, quickly shoving it into her mouth to stop the bleeding.

Donni snatched up the young girl's wrist and began running it under the cold tap while searching for the first aid kit in the cupboard underneath the sink, cursing heavily in Italian all the while. She stood straight after a moment of rummaging and fixed a bright blue plaster over the small but painful laceration.

"You need to keep your mind focused on the task at hand." She announced with a look of mock admonishment, though a smile was not far behind. "Instead of thinking about…someone!"

Frankie growled in frustration drawing concerned glances from the three sat waiting patiently around the battered old dining table. She blushed furiously and waved their stares away announcing that she was fine and had simply sliced her finger before rounding on Donni with an annoyed frown.

"You're the one who started all this and made me lose my concentration!" she replied in a furious whisper, Donni's chuckling only serving to fuel her fury. "Besides I wasn't thinking about Jesse! I only met him today."

Donni laughed again and patted Frankie's shoulder calmingly. "That ain't never stopped us Toretto girls before. It's never stopped you before!" Donni narrowed her eyes at her niece. "I remember when you brought-what was his name?" Donni closed her eyes and ground her teeth together trying to recall her memory. "Oh you know the one! The first boyfriend you ever brought home. You were fourteen and you met him that very day!"

Frankie rolled her eyes and took a deep breath to try and quell her temper as she busied herself with slicing up a loaf of bread and buttering it. "His name was Felix and he was an idiota!" Frankie retorted, slapping the bread slices down onto a spare plate, one on top of the other, before attacking them with the knife again, cutting them into smaller squares. She turned, bread plate in hand meaning to take it through to the dining area but Donni moved in front of her, leaning one hand on either worktop and blocking her escape. "Donni!"

The older woman smiled and leaned down slightly to fix Frankie with an invasive stare, eye to eye. "Come on, Frank. Just tell me what you think of him then I'll stop teasing." She pleaded and Frankie clenched her teeth, rolling her eyes yet again in frustration.

"He's nice." She sighed. "There, you happy?" she quipped attempting to force her way past the demented woman facing her who she usually loved to death. At that moment, however, she wanted nothing more than to sock her one!

"Just nice?" Donni pushed receiving a dangerous glare.

"Jesus Holy Christ! What is this? The Spanish Inquisition!" Frankie snapped, so wound up that she failed to notice that she was the centre of attention for those sat at the dinner table.

Donni watched with slightly disapproving eyes as Frankie elbowed her way out of the kitchen muttering profanities under her breath.

"Don't let your father hear you talking dirt!" Donni warned her retreating back and Frankie simply shot her a final glance, glaring daggers.

They worked in silence, setting the table and serving their waiting family their food before it went cold, returning to the kitchen one final time to retrieve drinks.

"So…" Donni said quietly and Frankie almost wanted to rip the hair from her own head in desperation. "You really like him, huh? I mean if you're getting all defensive with me then you must."

Frankie shook her head, pleadingly. Why did her family enjoy mocking her so much? Was it punishment for something she had done wrong in a previous life? Finally she raised her eyes back to her aunts and gave a tired sigh. "Yes, I like him." She snapped quietly. "He understands me coz his mom left when he was little too."

Donni sobered at that and gave a nod, allaying her taunting and winding her arms about Frankie, pulling the sixteen year old into a warm embrace. "You know I don't mean nothing when I tease you, don't you bambina?" Donni whispered and Frankie sighed and nodded, returning the hug.

"Yeah…" she replied and Donni held her at arms length, scrutinising her.

"Alright. I'll call it quits on the teasing." She smiled and ruffled Frankie's hair slightly, giving a wistful sigh. "I remember when you were only little…you're growing up too fast, bambina."

Frankie gave Donni an exasperated shake of her head before puling away and making towards the table with a glass of water in each hand. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Donni. I haven't been for a long time."

Donni stood watching for a long moment contemplating just how true Frankie's words were. No matter what Tino said about her being a little girl in some aspects, she was more mature than both Donni and her brother put together in most. She had grown up too fast and that had been her mother's fault, running off with the fucking postman. It had been so long since either Tino or Frankie had laughed freely and Donni found part of her heart hoping that the arrival of their cousins and their cousins friends could remedy that somewhat. Her gaze flickered to where Frankie sat down beside Jesse and they shared a jovial moment recounting to Mia and Tino how the young man had fallen off the fence, squabbling about the reasons he had 'fallen'. Donni found herself chuckling with them as Frankie spoke animatedly, trying to out word Jesse and win their verbal sparring session.

"Donni?" Tino called breaking her from her thoughts. She glanced up at her brother's amused face. "You gonna come eat, or are you gonna stare at us all night?"

She simply rolled her eyes and carried the last three glasses to the table, taking her place beside Mia and joining in the chatter as the all ate.

Yes, she thought. Things were definitely going to get better!

-00000-

Phew! That ones done! Hope that it's not too bad. I know what Frankie feels like coz my family tease relentlessly if they find out I like someone…Families! Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! Sheesh! Oh, before I pop off, if anyone knows how long it takes to drive from L.A to San Felipe I would be really grateful if you could tell me, being a brit I don't know a lot about journey times in the U.S.A. Sure ask me how long it takes to get anywhere in the U.K and I know it but America…not so hot! Thankies!

Oh and pazzo is italian for crazy/insane...i think...(if thats wrong please tell me coz i don't speak italian, i barely speak english very well! hahaha!)