Disclaimer - I do not own anything affiliated with Universal studios because that is where The Fast and the Furious comes from and I am merely using the characters from their films for creative purposes. There are also many, many songs that inspire certain chapters that I use as a sort of muse for the way I want things to pan out. So please, don't sue me for using your material. I mean no harm. It is all in the name of entertainment. And I can't afford it.

AN: Hello again Candy Cane Children. Thanks for joining me again on the second outing of this story and cheers for reading.That's all for now. Keep on rockin' - Jet.

Coffee, Cigarettes and Apologies

By Jet-Indigo

Chapter Two – You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us in Prison

Leon sat uncomfortably in a hard backed plastic chair. Around him were several people talking to their lovers, brothers and fathers. He sighed deeply, staring through the thick, bullet proof plastic that separated him from the prisoners. He had to tell his father about Jesse but he was nervous, trembling all over. His forehead was slick with a cold sweat and his palms were sticky. He wiped them on his dirty jeans and realised that his knee was jolting up and down nervously.

By the door, a stone-faced guard stood with his hands behind his back. The door opened and his father walked out, wearing a white crew-neck and navy blue overalls that were only pulled on to the waist. Despite being in prison, he looked surprisingly well – but that was his way. No matter the situation, he always managed to have that little sparkle in his eyes, a trait he had passed on to his two sons and daughter. He smiled when he saw his son waiting for him, sitting in the chair opposite and lifting the receiver on the other end. Leon picked up his end and tried hard to make sure his hand didn't shake.

"Hey son."

"Hey dad. How's the life treating you?"

"It's pretty good, has its ups and downs, ya know?"

"Sure, just like regular life huh?"

"You could say that," he chuckled. "So what brings you down here?"

Leon's heart skipped a beat and he licked his dry lips. "Something happened yesterday." He avoided his fathers questioning gaze, focused on the black speck on the grey wall behind him.

"What happened?"

"Well, Jesse…He was in a race at wars and he lost the slips to the Jetta. But instead of driving back to hand them over he drove away. He went missing for about four hours and then when he finally went back to the house…"

"What?"

"The guy he'd lost to, he and his cousin did a drive-by and Jess got caught in the fire."

"Well, where? Is he okay?" His father was now almost pressed against the plastic, desperation in his eyes. The guard by the door looked over speculatively; ready to hold the prisoner back if anything happened.

Leon shook his head gravely, stared even harder at the black spot. "Jesse's dead."

He could see his father's shoulders rising and falling with the deep breaths he was taking. His knuckles had turned white against the receiver and his face had turned a similar colour. Leon finally looked back in his fathers green eyes that matched his own and they both reflected the same emotions – heartbreak and anger.

"Who did it?"

"Tran…But he's dead now too."

"Fuck Le, why didn't you stop him from racing?"

"I tried, I did. But you know him, once he thinks he's onto a good thing…It's my fault though, I coulda took away the keys or hidden the slips but no, I just told him it was dumb and he went ahead and did it anyway."

"Leon, look at me. It's not your fault. I know who to blame and his name begins with Toretto," he growled, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw. Leon looked at him questioningly and realised his father knew more than he realised. At least, that's what he thought. He didn't think there was any possible way he would know about the heists but Leon could just never tell, unlike him, his father wasn't very easy to read emotion–wise. He was an emotional wreck on the inside, Leon was sure, but on the outside he kept up a wall. A thick, bullet-proof, steel wall that kept all of his deepest emotions hidden. And though he was obviously upset about the death of his son, he wasn't showing it. He wouldn't show it because of where he was.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Come on L, I'm not stupid. Jesse looked up to the guy, though I ain't got no clue why. This is a guy, who willingly shaves his head, looks like he's on 'roids, cheats on that fine woman he's got and yet Jess would do anything for him if he asked." He shook his head, "He might not've asked him to race Tran but he's the one who slept with Tran's sister and generally caused a turf war between the two 'gangs'," he used finger gestures with his free hand and shook his head again. "Ultimately, he's to blame for Jesse's death. And nothing will change my mind on that."

Leon swallowed thickly, knowing that if his father ever got his hands on Dominic he would likely end up back in prison. He hated to admit it but his father did have a good point. Dominic was the one who had caused the big rift between the Trans and 'Team Toretto'. That was another thing that kind of grated on Leon, why they were called a team was beyond him.

He ran his fingers through his hair for the thousandth time and glanced briefly at the guard who was watching them with a close eye. When he looked back at his dad, he was lighting a cigarette and surrounding himself in a billow of smoke.

"I'm out in six months Le, and we'll toast Jesse in a big way son. In a big way." He spoke with the cigarette in his mouth and leaned back in his chair. He watched his eldest child look at him while blowing smoke rings into the air before him. "Where's everyone else at then?"

Leon sighed, not about to go into the whole story while his father was still in prison. "V's in the hospital, Letty's outside in the parking lot and Mia and Dom…Probably halfway around the world right now."

"Figures. He saves his own ass and leaves you to deal with the mess, sounds about right to me."

"Kinda puts things into perspective for us," Leon nodded, catching sight of the guard pointing at the clock and nodding. Time was up. "Well pop, give me a call when you can."

"Yeah, and I'll see you in six. I love you, don't forget that."

"Love you too."

He stood up and Leon watched him leave, a trail of smoke in his midst. He hung up the receiver and left the prison building, handing in the temporary pass he was made to wear and going out to the parking lot. Letty was sat on a bench, leaning back with eyes closed. She faced the sun and had a small smile on her face. Leon thought she had never looked so beautiful but then she caught sight of him and smiled, making him realise that she had proved him wrong.

"How'd it go?" She asked as she stood up and they began their journey back to Vince's apartment.

"Pretty good. I think it might take a while to kick in…He blames Dom."

"Oh shit. That's not good."

"Nope, but we've got six months before he gets out and that's even if Dom shows up again."

"True," Letty nodded. Leon glanced at her, noting that she became quieter at the mention of Dom. He knew it was hard on her after all this time when she had just begun trusting him properly again. It wasn't her fault that he was an asshole to her, despite him seeming all loved up towards her when they were alone he pretty much blew her off whenever he was on the scene, showing off and proving that he was the best.

Dominic wasn't that great a racer as it goes. He could hold his own in the right circumstances, a drag race against some fools in it for the rush of racing, but in a circuit race? Tackling sharp corners at high speeds he probably couldn't do. For so long, Leon had been blind to Dominic's real personality, he seemed to hide it so well but then everything seemed to fit into place one day and he saw the true Dom - the selfish, arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic boy that he really was. Sure, he had his good days and his bad days, just like anybody else but there were more and more of the bad days during the heists.

"Did I tell you? Vince's twin turned up," Letty asked, as they crossed a road.

"Seriously?"

"For sure man, saw him myself. He seemed alright but no one really knows what went on between him and V that caused them not to speak for so long."

"Yeah, it was probably something stupid, ya know? Siblings are like that," Leon agreed, tripping on the pavement and chuckling along with Letty.

"You, Jess and Kate ever get like that?"

"Nah, not really. I guess we never shared a womb though, we all had different mothers so…' He shrugged. Letty didn't understand why guys didn't talk much about their personal lives; she didn't know that much about Leon or Vince when she thought about it. Despite having known them for over eight years, she knew nothing of their lives before the team. She knew their favourite music, bands, songs and smells, type of women they go for, turn-on's, turn-offs…But nothing about their families or their childhoods. That was something was going to have to change.

…

"Vince! Vince, wake up! We've gotta get moving!"

"What?" Vince asked groggily, opening his eyes slightly to look at Henry, who had hurried into the room and was talking in aloud whisper.

"I just saw pigs asking about you downstairs, we've gotta get you outta here. Now!" He ripped away the covers that had been covering Vince's bare legs and tossed him his jeans. Moving slowly, Vince swung his legs down to the floor and tried to pull his jeans on. He was barely able to move as it was and now panicking he was unable to get his jeans past his calves. Each time he moved his arm, sharp pains bit at the wrist and shot up to his shoulder making him convulse. Tears of frustration welled up in his eyes and Henry noticed, making Vince stand up while he pulled the jeans on and did them up. "We never speak of this moment," he said, pointing at Vince and putting his other arm around his waist.

He grabbed Vince's wallet from the bedside table as Vince ripped out his IV and pulled the clip from his finger. By doing so, the heart monitor flat lined and it was only a matter of time before they would get caught escaping. Henry pulled them both over to the door, glanced out to check that the coast was clear, and dragged Vince towards the stairs. He kicked open the door and they made the long, painful way down the stairs.

After two flights, Vince was sweating so much that Henry could no longer keep a firm grip on him. He carefully placed him against the wall and noticed with horror that blood was seeping from the wound in his gut.

"Shit V, you're bleeding," he muttered, pulling off his jacket and holding it against the re-opened wound. Vince was ghostly white and wheezing for air, both of his arms trembling. "Oh God, I shouldn't have moved you V. You're a mess."

"No," he wheezed. "We have to get outta here."

"Okay, I've got you," Henry replied, slipping his arm around his brother's waist once again and leading them down two more flights of stairs. They finally reached the exit and burst out into the sunlight. He pulled him over to a black Viper sitting by itself in the back parking lot.

The door swung open and Luther stepped out, ripping his shades from his eyes and hurrying over to help him. "What the fuck happened?"

"Cops showed up so I broke him outta there," Henry muttered as they piled Vince onto the back seat and jumped into the front. Luther sped out of the parking lot and onto the freeway. "Shit, he's not gonna make it…"