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: Another day, another chapter. I was in the middle of chapter eight when i realised I should post some more really so here it is. Thanks for reading and/or reviewing - Jet.

Coffee, Cigarettes and Apologies

By Jet-Indigo

Chapter Four – Sweet Dreams

Vince pulled himself down the stairs in the darkness, holding his bandaged arm close to his body and over his shot wound. He had woken up a few minutes earlier and the loud grumbling of his stomach had told him that food was in order. After he had gotten used to the initial pain, he found that walking didn't hurt too much, it was mainly sitting, and standing or anything that required a lot of effort just about floored him.

He made his way into the kitchen, taking note that the light was still on. He pushed through the door with his good arm to find the kitchen empty, but noticed that the back door was slightly ajar. He moved toward it and the smell of cigarette smoke hit his nose. He peaked out onto the back porch to see a pair of legs propped up against the porch rail. After a couple of seconds, he opened the door properly and was faced with a young woman sitting in a garden chair. She looked up at him, cigarette in one hand, and glass of water in the other.

"Smoke?" She asked, holding up the packet of Marlboro Lights. That accent…Sounds familiar. British. Definitely British.

"Please," Vince replied, sitting down with a huff in the spare chair beside her. She proffered him the packet and he took a cigarette, placing it to his lips. Before he could ask, she was already lighting it for him. "Thanks," he muttered, through a billow of smoke. Despite the tremendous amount of pain searing through his arm and side, the cigarette took the edge off that little bit. He was breathing heavily, earning him a curious glance from his smoking partner.

"You okay there?" She asked, seemingly concerned.

"Yeah," he winced as he moved slightly to try and get into a more comfortable position. He looked back up at her, smiling slightly.

"You should be in a hospital," she stated. "Well hey, as if that's not at least obvious. Sorry."

"Yeah," he repeated, taking a long drag of his cigarette. He tapped some ash into the ash tray placed on the arm of her chair, closing his eyes as he sat back again and wished the pain away.

"I'm Juliette, by the way," she said, lighting herself another cigarette. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he caught the slightest smile through the darkness and smoke. She turned to look at him, questioning.

"Vince," he nodded. The chick outside my room. This is her house. Her house that I'm staying in. Staying in with a gunshot wound to the gut and a heavily bandaged arm. Oh…Fuck.

"I know."

"Of course…"

"You've been out for ages. Slept right through Thursday night and Friday."

"That long? Jesus, what time is it?"

She peered back inside, "3.47am." She glanced back at him and leaned back in her chair.

"So, uh, this is your house?"

"Well partly, I share with my room mate Connor but he's away until Sunday." She nodded. "Your Henry's twin, huh?"

"Yeah, I shared a womb with it."

"You don't look that similar, really," she mused, cocking her head slightly. "Maybe it's the mullet."

Vince chuckled lightly, "Someone should really tell him they went out in the eighties. Who's he kiddin'?"

"He only keeps it because he thinks it bugs us. I mean it kinda does but why would you do that to yourself?" She sniggered along with him.

Vince finished his cigarette and closed his eyes, embracing the head rush. He had smoked since he was sixteen but since Dom didn't like the smell, he had to quit. Well, he told Dom that he had. Secretly, he would go outside for the odd few. He was glad he didn't share a house with him. He wouldn't have been able to survive. He knew it was a bad habit but he loved the rush of nicotine. It gave him something to do when things got too heavy, when Dom and Letty argued, when someone was upset, he'd nip outside for a crafty smoke. Plus he was slightly vain and thought it looked cool.

Obviously, he wasn't always that sneaky and had been caught by Mia one day. He had thought that she would give him some lecture about how it was bad for him, being a med student and everything. Instead, she had looked at him expressionless for a minute or so, while he dared to take a drag. She checked over her shoulder, making sure Dom didn't catch her and ducked behind the wall where Vince was hiding. Then she had asked him for one. Of all the people out of the team, Mia had been the one who was a secret smoker. He gladly obliged, finally glad to have something that could maybe bring him closer to Mia…God, how he missed her.

He reached over and grabbed another from the pack without asking, earning him a lopsided smile. "Feels better huh?" She asked, bringing her legs back up onto the chair and resting her chin on her knee.

"A little," he breathed, shaking slightly as he lit it.

He watched her out of the side of his eye, the way she squinted slightly each time she took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke out of the side of her mouth. The three sets of silver studs, one with an emerald coloured gem, she wore in her ears that glistened slightly in the night sky. The way her jaw line moved as she smoked and talked. All of a sudden, it seemed, Vince felt as though he was noticing the small things much more often. It wasn't like he felt as though he was checking her out, merely observing this new person, trying to give himself a mental image. This was new to him, but maybe he had a new rejuvenation for life. Life in itself.

"You hungry?" Jude asked, standing up fluidly and holding onto the door that led into the kitchen. As if on cue, Vince's stomach rumbled loudly and they both laughed. Vince however stopped himself after a couple of moments as an intense pain ripped through his gut and told him not to laugh. He was oddly glad that Juliette hadn't seen his moment of weakness as he closed his eyes once more and bit down on his tongue. She had just walked back inside as it came over him and he found himself swaying ever so slightly in his chair.

After a minute or so, the pain subsided into a dull ache and a vengeful headache came on. He pushed himself up with his good arm, stumbling forward as a head rush caught him. He managed to grab the porch rail just in time but he could see blackness coming in from the sides of his eyes. And then the blackness encompassed him.

When he opened his eyes, Juliette was hovering in his line of vision, brow creased in worry. "Whoa Vince, you okay?" He tried to speak but instead, nodded his head. "I'll get you a glass of water." She said, leaving him alone once again. He could hear a cupboard door shut and then a moment later she arrived with a cold glass of water. She set it down on one of the chairs before turning to Vince and helping him up into an upright position. She handed him the water and slouched down beside him as he sipped at the cool liquid.

"How long was I out?"

"About 30 seconds. Not long. But you still scared the Be-Jesus outta me," she replied, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Sorry," he said, looking down at his bandaged arm.

"Don't worry about it. You made one heck of a bang though, I'd say I was surprised you didn't wake someone but we're talking about Luther and Henry here. They'd sleep through a nuclear war and still keep on snoring."

Vince wanted to laugh but he knew if he did, the same thing could happen to him once again and that's not what he wanted. He knew now that it had happened, the likeliness of it happening again was slim; well he hoped they were.

"So what happened to you Vince? Henry won't tell me anything, and I get the impression he kinda doesn't know the full story himself…" Vince glanced at Juliette but she wasn't looking at him. Instead she had stretched her legs out in front of her and was resting her head against the porch rail. He sighed, placing the glass of water down and leaning his head back also.

"It's a long story…" He said after a minute. "But it was a stupid mistake on my behalf, so I'm only to blame."

Juliette regarded him for a short while, watching as he breathed slightly out of rhythm because of the obvious pain he was in. He clearly didn't want to be pushed on the matter so instead she pulled herself up. "Come on, I'll help you up."

Vince looked up at her, dumbfounded. "You won't be able to bear my weight," he said, flatly.

"Don't be stupid Vince; I'm sure I can help you in to the couch. We have to do something, I'm not gonna leave you out here all night. Now-" she outstretched both her hands in front of him. He continued to stare at her a moment before coming around sceptically. He grabbed her hands and with the support of the porch rail, he heaved himself to his feet. "You okay?" She asked, as he stumbled slightly, feeling light headed and wanting to just lay down right then. He nodded sharply and she nodded back. She helped him through the back door, through the kitchen and into the living room. She led him around the couch and helped him gently sit down.

Vince nodded at her, smiling lightly for effect. "Thanks."

"You're okay? You want me to get you anything?"

"No thanks," he breathed, trying to regain a breathing regularity.

"Okay," she said slowly. She watched him a moment, feeling helpless for the stranger who could have slowly been dying on her couch. "Night."

"Night."

He watched her disappear from his line of sight and sighed as he heard her go up the stairs. He was in a lethargic stage where he was in between sleeping and being awake. He wasn't really thinking of anything. He was just blank.

His life felt blank. All of it.