A/N: Sorry guys, my grandfather is really ill so I've been bouncing between work and the hospital all week. Forgive me.


Part XII

Dom's, Wednesday, 7:53PM

Their session with Dr. Klaus had gone swimmingly. The topic this week was the future. They spoke about the goals they had for themselves and what they envisioned for Mateo. Like any parent, they only wanted him to be happy. Whether he was a professional football player or a career student, he could never disappoint them. Dr. Klaus was there to remind them that no matter what they say Mateo doing or being, they should know that they had done their absolute best as parents.

When their session was over, they picked up Mateo from Mia's where he declared he wanted to stay at his father's house they evening. Dom made dinner, a Cuban roast with roasted new potatoes and sautéed broccoli and mushrooms. After dinner, Mateo and Dom kicked a soccer ball around in the backyard while Letty cleaned the kitchen and then found herself a nice bottle of wine and what she thought was a trashy magazine. She retired to the family room where she could see her son and his father playing around. Darkness fell quickly and, with it, Mateo's bedtime, all while Letty lost herself in a few articles.

"There she is." Dom greeted her. He'd found her in the family room, sitting at the bay window with a magazine in her hands. She looked up and he watched her face lighten. It had been a long time since he'd seen that look cross her face.

"Anything good?"

Letty folded the magazine back and handed him the article she had been reading.

"You know how some things are signs?"

"Showing you how things are meant to be?"

"Exactly." Letty nodded. "Read the fourth paragraph."

Dom sat on the window opposite her and began to read.

"I'm a scientist in that way." He said, gesturing to himself. "I read something when my wife and I first got together that said the most successful men in history have been married. And for me, I knew that I would squander my life if I was running around. The way my mind works, I can only excel for a woman, specifically the woman who is mine. Specifically, the woman who is my world, my wife, my confidant, the mother of my children. My trophy. The one thing in my life that keeps me on track. Success is what I carry in my spirit. She is what I carry in my spirit. She makes me a better, more successful man."

Dom looked up at Letty. "I swear I could have written this myself."

"I know." She smiled.

"My trophy." Dom reminded her while reaching over to stroke her cheek. "And not because you can be won, but because you are a tangible reminder of the one thing I've achieved in life that I never thought I would."

"And what's that?"

"True happiness."

"You don't need me for that."

"Yes I do."

"I'm glad we're breaking away from our family's communication traditions and beginning our own. I want Mateo to know what a healthy, honest love is."

"So do I." Dom handed her back the reading material. "I'm glad I'm on this journey with you."

"Me too."


Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School, Friday, 4:34PM

There were three things that Letty would never admit aloud: when she was sad, when she was horny and when she was jealous. Mainly because they were traits that showed in her facial expressions and through her body language.

So, there she sat in the bleachers at another of her son's soccer games, her jaw clenched and her fingers tapping impatiently on the metal seat beside her. Her current emotion: jealousy.

"You just gonna let her take your man like that?" Rome asked as he plopped down next to her.

"He can have a conversation, Roman."

Dom had run down to give Mateo a pep talk. They could tell he was frustrated with how the game was going. On his way back to his seat next to Letty, Dom had been stopped by Elena.

"With the woman he almost moved on from you with?" Rome looked Letty up and down, and feigned disgust. "Motherhood has made you soft. I don't even know who you are anymore."

Leave it to Roman Pearce to make her smirk when she was trying to be upset.

"Care to test that theory?" She questioned, a playful threat in her voice.

He put his hands up in surrender and stood up, walking away. Moments later, she was joined by Brian.

"Let?"

"Hm?" She was distracted, not taking her eyes off of the exchange between Dom and Elena.

"You know you're all he's ever wanted, right?"

That caught Letty's attention. "What?"

"Dom." Brian clarified. "You are who he wants. Dom and Letty is endgame, here."

Letty knew he was right, and he was sweet for saying so. She and Brian always had a special connection. Their friendship was solidified when Letty realized what lengths Brian would go to in order to clear Dom's name all those years ago. And even more so when he became her handler during the plan to get to Dom. And when she'd lost her memories, he had such guilt over the accident. The least she could do was remind him that even without her memories, she knew who she was, and no one could ever have forced her to do the things that she'd done. They'd been thick as thieves ever since.

And here he was, still encouraging her to go for it with Dom.

"Thanks, B." She said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Any time."

"Hey, man. Trying to steal my woman?" Dom's voiced shot through Letty's central nervous system and her body was suddenly ablaze. Her eyes shot up to meet his. There were slight crow's feet crinkling the corners of his brown orbs and Letty realized his age just then. All of their ages, really. And they were too old for the bullshit.

"You and Elena seemed chummy." She said to him.

Brian's brows shot up. "I should go—," he tried and failed to come up with an excuse, "be somewhere other than here."

It was her own fault, really, that Dom and Elena had even been friends. She'd told Elena that of all the men she'd ever meet, Dom was sure to be the realest and that Elena should go for it. Now, fury was slowly building and if she'd learned anything in therapy, it was that now was not the best time to talk about her feelings.

Dom took his original seat beside Letty and rubbed his bald head.

"Letty, we talked about Mateo's grades and his soccer skills. That's all."

Still, he watched for the telltale sign of Letty's jaw tightening. When he saw it, he smiled. "Don't be jealous."

She scoffed. "I'm not jealous of your girlfriend, Dom."

"Don't be a liar either."

"I'm upset right now. I think I should go sit with Mia until I calm down and can express my feelings in a calm manner." It was an honest truth, meant to warn someone else that the person speaking was not in the right frame of mind to hold a mature conversation. Letty had picked it up from Dr. Klaus and no matter how badly Dom wanted to have the conversation, he knew he had to respect Letty's feelings and move accordingly.

Dom looked impressed. He nodded his head. "I'll go sit with Brian and send Mia down here."

"Sound good?"

Letty shrugged and turned towards the field. He kissed the side of her face and got up to do as he said he would. She found that she missed him immediately.

And she also found that her anger suddenly felt a lot more like arousal.


Letty's, 7:07PM

With Mateo in the shower and Dom ordering takeout, Letty paced the living room floor, chewing on her thumbnail. The anxiety of an open, honest discussion always made her a little nervous, but this was different. This was Dom and Letty, 2.0. Communication was going to be easier this time around, she inwardly asserted.

"Chinese should be here in a half." He said, jolting her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry." She blurted out.

"For?" He rested a forearm against the arches between the living and dining rooms.

"For being so weird about Elena. I just—." She trailed off.

"Don't stop expressing now. You just?" He prompted.

"I felt, I don't know, possessive over you. And I know I don't have a claim to stake over you which makes it ten times harder to see you talking to someone you were getting to know… you know… intimately."

Dom crossed the room, put both hands on her shoulders and stared at her, blinking.

"Who are you and what have you done to Letty?" He teased. Letty shook her head, failing at hiding a grin.

"You're an ass."

Pulling her into his arms, Dom rested his cheek atop her head. "But I'm your ass. I hope you know that. Feel free to stake a claim whenever you're ready."

She pulled her head away and tilted it upwards to look at him. He looked down and dipped his head to kiss her softly.

Yep, Letty admitted to herself, definitely arousal.

But she couldn't just back into bed with this man, no matter how familiar he was and how perfect it felt to be back in his strong arms. They still had so much to work on.

Kissing her once more, Dom pulled away before Letty could feel his growing erection. Mature Letty was hot enough, but Mature Letty with pillow soft lips and apple-scented hair was too much for him to handle in that moment.

"I acknowledge your feelings and vow to never make you feel that way again."

It was a statement of acceptance, something else they learned from Dr. Klaus. The sessions really work working.

"Thank you. And thank you for ordering dinner."

"You're welcome." He rounded Letty and the coffee table beside her to plot down on the couch. "Now, come snuggle with me before Mateo is done showering." Dom patted the spot on the couch next to him, invitingly.


Mia and Brian's, Sunday, 3:09PM

Dom, Brian, Tej and Han stood around the grill, drinking Coronas and talking.

"I think Mia wants another kid. She's jumping me in every room of the house lately."

"Better than not being jumped at all." Tej replied.

"Here, here." Han said, tapping his beer against Tej's.

"How are things with you and Letty, DT? Still platonic?" Tej asked.

"It's never platonic with Dom and Letty." Brian responded.

"We're working towards something." Dom told them, cryptically. They were a nosy bunch for sure, and even though they were family, Dom and Letty had always been private about their lives together. It was why Dom and Letty had long been considered the father and mother of their team.

"'Something', he says." Tej added.

In the living room…

"Mia!"

"What? I just want one more. Then I'll be done." She shrugged. "Besides, Brian doesn't seem to have a problem with the process."

Mia, Letty and Ramsey laughed heartily at that.

"Speaking of process, what's happening with you and Dom?" Ramsey asked.

"Oh, they're definitely back in the saddle."

"Don't listen to Mia." Letty told Ramsey. "We're getting our shit together. That's all."

"Do you want to be back in the saddle?"

Letty pulled a leg up, foot resting against the chair and she picked at an invisible piece of lint on her jeans. "I don't know. It's Dom." She lifted a shoulder and then dropped it.

"Exactly. It's Dom." Mia replied at the same time that Ramsey said:

"So what? It's Dom."

It was then that Letty realized, in everyone else's eyes, she and Dom were going to be together no matter what. Mia, who knew about Owen, never once asked how things had ended with the Englishman. Sure, Dom was her brother so she was a tad biased. But Ramsey, who'd only known Dom for half a minute was rooting for them.

And then there was Letty. She had only had sex with one man her entire life. She had only been in love with one man. And never once did she wonder what it would be like with someone else. She didn't have to. Hell, Letty didn't want to.

And while it probably wasn't the best idea to hop right back into the sack while they were in the process of working on themselves, could it really hurt?

Especially if they already knew in their hearts that they were going to be together in the end?

In the backyard…

"I'm just saying if Letty is sending you the signals, you need to be jumping on that." Roman had joined the conversation by then and he was saying what everyone else was thinking. He always did.

"Wait," Tej said, pointing his beer at Dom, accusingly, "have there been signals?"

"What are we talking about when we say signals, exactly?" Dom feigned ignorance as he turned over a couple of steaks.

"You know, walking around the house in cute little shorts." Roman said.

"Touching your arm a lot when she talks to you." Tej added and put his hand on Brian's bicep to illustrate his point.

"Yeah, or the subtle yet no-so-subtly undressing you with her eyes." Brian looked down and back up at Dom.

The men broke out in laughter. Women were funny creatures. Most times they said exactly what they meant whether with actual words or body language but most men were just too stupid to comprehend it. But Dom knew Letty better than everyone else. She wouldn't do any of the things they were suggesting.

"Nah, none of the above." He told them.

In the living room…

Someone Letty's internal reverie burst to the surface and she'd asked the only other women in her life, besides her mom, what they thought.

"I don't think it'll hurt. Might even bring you guys closer."

"You're already the time, might as well do the crime." Mia said.

Letty chuckled. "I don't think you can use that phrase for this situation."

Mia shrugged. "Fine, if you're horny, do something about it. Is that simple enough for you?"

"Nah. Nothing is simple when it comes to Dom."

"Sure it is. He'll undress you with his eyes, maybe touch your lower back when he's trying to move past you." Ramsey said.

"Yeah, or his voice will get deeper."

"I don't think that's possible with Dom."

"It's possible." Letty quickly confirmed. "But it hasn't."

"It will."


Letty's, 9:08PM

Dom couldn't believe his eyes.

Letty walked into the living room, fresh from a shower. Hair still wet, black tank top tight in the right places…

...and black, volleyball shorts.

His nearly salivated just then.

"Whiskey?" She asked, standing between the living and dining rooms.

Dom swallowed harshly and then nodded. "God, yes."

His voice was gruff and lower than normal.

Letty who'd started towards the kitchen, froze in her movements.

There it was. The lower voice. The one that sent shivers down her body, making a pit stop at her core before ending at her toes, curling them effortlessly.

She exhaled a shaky, "Okay."