Disclaimer - I don't own any characters that you may recognise, any you don't are mine. I'm not making any money from this story so don't sue me - I've nothing worth taking unless you count two manky dogs and you're more than welcome to them! Be warned though, they smell and bark a lot! This story takes place immediately after the end of the film.

I'd like to dedicate this story to a very special friend - she's been with me through the many ups and downs of the past few months and she's someone that I not only trust with my life but I love more than I ever thought possible. True friends are very rare in this life and when you find them you need to grab hold and not let go. This story is for you sweetie - I hope you enjoy it and don't forget "real men wear chainmail".

Chapter 1

After dropping Letty and Dom back at the warehouse Leon headed back into LA, Dom had given him hell for not taking Letty to the hospital but Leon had other more important things to do. He had to get to Rebecca and tell her what had happened. Someone had to tell her that Vince was seriously hurt, and quite possibly dead.

He was halfway to Rebecca's house before he plucked up the courage to phone the hospital. He didn't want to know what they were going to tell him, Dom had said in the car on the way back to the warehouse that Vince wasn't looking good and he wasn't sure he was strong enough to hear that his friend had been killed. With a heavy heart that he dialled the number for the main trauma centre in LA.

It was a good half an hour before his tears had slowed enough for him to be able to see clearly enough to drive. The words of the ER receptionist were burned in his brain and he knew that he'd never be able to forget them "I'm sorry Mr Anderson but your friend was dead on arrival at the hospital, the doctors did everything they could but his injuries were too severe. There was nothing they could do."

Dom had killed him as sure as if he'd shot him himself. No-one had wanted to do the final heist, they'd all said it felt wrong but Dom had insisted – said it was the motherload and that after that they'd be set for life. The selfish bastard had put his own greed above his friends and family and now Vince was dead, Letty was battered and bruised, Mia was heartbroken and he had to tell Rebecca that Vince was dead. The man that she loved and planned to marry was dead.

It was late by the time he got to Rebecca's, the whole house was in darkness and it was obvious that she'd turned in for the night. Part of him wanted to turn around and head back to the fort, just grab his stuff and go but he knew that if didn't tell Rebecca no-one would. He was the only one left who knew anything about her and he'd once promised Vince that if anything happened to him that he'd look after Rebecca, "If anything goes wrong Leon, I need you to look after Bex for me. She's not strong enough to deal with it all by herself, she'll need you." Leon had agreed instantly, never once thinking that something would go wrong and he'd find himself having to make good on his promise.

After pulling up onto the driveway he walked round to the back of the house and quietly slipped in through the open kitchen window. He'd have to have words with her about that, if he could get in then anyone could and he wasn't always going to be there to keep her safe. Rebecca's house was small, a lot smaller than the fort – only 1 bedroom and no basement – but it was much more of a home than the fort was. The lounge was full of photos of her and Vince laughing and smiling, he looked so different to the Vince that worked at DT and raced with Dom. He didn't have a care in the world and was obviously happy with Rebecca. The photo in the centre of the mantle piece caught his attention – it was Vince and Rebecca and him and his girlfriend Stacey, 'fuck' he thought, 'forgot all about Stacey'. He'd been seeing her for a few months now and whilst they weren't serious or even exclusive he'd been working his way up to that. He was starting to get tired of his player reputation and seeing Vince with Rebecca had made him think more about settling down. The photo was 3mths old and had been taken the day that Vince had introduced Rebecca to Leon. It was also the day that he'd told him that he was going to be a dad.

When he thought about Vince's baby his heart broke a little more. He'd never get to hold his child or even find out if he had a son or a daughter. His child had been robbed of its chance to know its father because Dominic Toretto had wanted to make some easy money. If only he'd let the other team members race they wouldn't have had to jack trucks, hell if Mia had learnt to cook decent food they wouldn't have had to jack trucks. The store had done a roaring lunch trade before Mia had decided to take over the cooking. Within a month the store was losing money hand over fist and had gone from making a profit of over $2000 a month to not making enough to cover the lighting bill.

Leon knew he couldn't put it off any longer as he slowly turned towards the stairs. He had to tell Rebecca what had happened, tell her why he'd broken into her house in the middle of the night and tell her why her lover wouldn't ever be coming home again. After taking his boots off he headed up the stairs to Rebecca's room. He had no idea how he was supposed to tell her that V was dead but he knew that the longer he left it the harder it would get.

He stood in the bedroom doorway for nearly an hour just watching her sleep. Her bump was really starting to show now and was peeking out from under the top of her short pyjamas. She looked so peaceful and Leon knew that the minute she woke up and found out about Vince her life would never be the same. When he sat on the bed next to her he had every intention of waking her up, even when he stripped down to his boxers he was still going to wake her up and tell her. It was only when he slipped under the covers with her and she snuggled up against him that he knew he couldn't tell her just yet. He wasn't sure if it was feeling the baby kicking against him, the way she dragged his arm over her body to rest on her bump or the way she whispered "I love you V" in his ear before she fell asleep again but he knew that he couldn't tell her just yet. She deserved one more night thinking that everything was fine, one more night thinking that V was still alive and that her baby still had a daddy, just one more night before her turned her world upside down with the news that the man she loved more than anyone else in the whole world was dead.