"Mail call!!"

Trixie lifted her head from the pillow, not daring to hope that she would have anything from Speed. Though Torie had promised her that she'd pass letters back and forth for them, Trixie knew that the postal system took time. Torie lived in Philadelphia. Speed lived in Farmington Hills. And the mail had a funny way of becoming delayed.

"Here you go, bird. One big, fat letter straight from Philadelphia," Killer announced cheerfully, thrusting a large manilla envelope towards her. He held in his right hand a small box and, as soon as she had taken her package, sat down to open it.

"I hope I have pictures!" he exclaimed happily, tearing into the box as if it were Christmastime.

"Pictures?" Trixie echoed, her eyes blinking before she realised what he meant. "Oh. You mean of Little Ryan."

Killer nodded enthusiastically.

"Torie says he looks just like his dad. Gerald and Mitsu have been ecstatic since that child was born."

"He's going to be spoiled rotten," she joked lightly, her fingers deftly opening her envelope. Several smaller envelopes spilled out and she sorted through them to see who had written to her.

'Pops, Mom, Spritle,' her head bobbed as she thumbed through. 'Sparky, Speed, Genevieve, Rex, Janine, and Torie.'

Her eyes blinked then darted back to the final envelope. Torie had sent her a letter? Curious, she opened the letter. Several small pictures fluttered onto the bed as Trixie extracted the letter from its keeper, saving Speed's letter for last.

Dear Trixie,

Sorry everything is a little late but better late than never, they say. The entire Racer clan, it seemed like, wanted to send you a letter, and, as you could probably guess, I've been very busy with the baby.

I sent you a couple of Ryan's baby pictures. I'm not sure if you'd want to see them, though I'm sure Killer would show you his copies anyway. I hope that you like them.

Anyway, not much is going on around here. Taylor's finally getting off my case as to your whereabouts so there's a bonus there. The holidays are coming up so the mail is going to be even slower. Also, I'm not sure when the next package is going to be sent, so consider yourself to be forewarned.

I'm sorry if this seems short and abrupt but I'm not really sure as to what else I can say to you . . . Plus the child is calling for me. The best of luck on your journey.

Torie

Trixie smiled to herself as she read the letter. Killer had once told her that Torie had a funny habit of sending letters with just about everything, except for bill payments. She just couldn't not send something without including a letter of some sort. Gingerly, she picked up the photos Torie had sent her and her smile grew a little softer.

A little baby boy with a wealth of dark hair and a huge grin appeared in them. She hadn't seen many pictures of his father but she could tell that he would grow up to be just as handsome as Ryan had been. What really caught her attention were who others who appeared in the photos. Mom Racer twirled the child in one, Pops' moustache was being pulled in another, and Janine and Sparky were talking while she held the baby, unaware that the camera was on them. But the one that really made her smile was the one of Speed holding the baby, though she couldn't believe how much he had changed.

His hair had grown long during his one-year hospital stay. He had looked good, she thought at the time though she was sure he'd have it cut the first chance he got. The picture she held in her hand proved her both right and wrong. Speed had cut his hair but not as short as she had expected. She could tell that it had been pulled back. A small pony tail jutted out from the back of his head. But his eyes and his smile . . . they had not changed. They were still as bright and as happy as ever.

'He looks almost like he could be the proud father of this child,' she mused idly, setting the pictures down. 'He'll make a great father someday.'

Curling up on the bed, she began to read the rest of her letters.