Author's Note: So having seen Fast 9 now (which I absolutely loved, you guys - despite the ridiculous stuff and some flaws) I have discovered that the Fast timeline in the movies just makes absolutely zero sense. Apparently Dom's dad crashed in 1989, but in 4 they told us that Letty was born in 1983. I now assume this is incorrect because it would have made her 6 when Dom went to jail and as far as I know he went to adult jail, meaning he had to at LEAST be 16/17 and tried as an adult. It also now seems that Mia is younger than Letty, since she was 16 after Jakob took off (after Dom got out of jail). Obviously that makes this fic pretty AU but then again I also seem to do more research than the writers of billion dollar movies (I mean Elena must have been pregnant for like 2 years after all) so *shrug*. We're just going with it.

In this short chapter Letty comes home from her summer away.

Chapter 9

When Letty came back from the DR at the end of the summer her mother actually picked her up at the airport. She looked good, and sober, for the first time in years. She hugged Letty, told her she missed her, and complimented her on her new clothes.

She didn't even mention the trouble Letty had gotten into when staying with Abuela. Maybe her grandmother hadn't told her mother, after all.

On the way home they stopped to pick up some tacos from Letty's favorite spot, where her father used to take her after their practice drives out at the lot. She was surprised her mother chose to go there, but didn't say anything about it. Marina asked about her visit and Letty told her about shopping with Maria and going to the beach almost every day. She'd made loads of new friends.

"Sounds like you had fun. You'll be able to go back if you want next summer."

Letty hedged. She'd had fun, but she'd missed home. Her friends in LA and working on her car. "Maybe. But not for the whole summer."

"You missed Mia, I'm sure." Marina smiled. "Her father invited us for the last barbeque of the summer in a couple of weeks."

"Yeah… that will be nice."

When they got home they sat at the kitchen table and ate their tacos before Letty went upstairs to unpack. Then she went downstairs again to let her mom know she was going over to Mia's.

The walk down the block felt familiar and strange all at once. Familiar cause she'd made it hundreds of times, but strange because she hadn't all summer. It felt just as warm here as it had nights in the DR, but there were a lot of differences too. She could admit she missed some things, like her cousin Maria and all the trouble they got into.

Mia was sitting out on her porch steps when she arrived. She was expecting Letty to come by, after all. Knew this was the day she'd be coming back. Perhaps they'd both been counting the time. When she spotted Letty though she fairly flew down the stairs, her sandals smacking on the stone.

Letty wouldn't have said she was much of a hugger, but it was still nice, when the taller girl wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in close. Letty could swear she'd grown another inch or two when she'd been gone, and her hair seemed longer. Perhaps they were both a bit older now.

Mia stepped back to survey her. "Wow you got so tan!" she said, then seemed to realize something else. "You got new clothes?"

"Yeah well… I guess I outgrew my old ones," she said with a shrug. And maybe she actually had. It seemed the summer she'd hit 15 puberty had finally been kind enough to fill out her figure.

"You did," Mia agreed with a nod, then smiled. "You look great. Did you have a nice time?"

"Yeah," Letty admitted. "It was fun. But… it would have been cooler if you'd been there. How were things here?"

"Boring," Mia led the way and they sat together on the stoop, side-by-side. "I worked in the garage a bunch cause their secretary quit." She sighed. "But did a few fun things. Dad took us to Universal one weekend. And I went to the beach with Isabel and her family a couple times. Did some shopping at the mall… tried to work on my tan."

"Go to any races?" Letty asked.

"Like the ones my dad drives in or the ones he pretends not to know my brother drives in?" Mia laughed. "Went to both actually…" She grinned. "And there's another street race coming up this weekend. Are you gonna come?"

"Yeah, I'll bum a ride from Hector. Wish I could drive myself."

"One more year then at least you'll have your permit," Mia said. "And you already have a car all ready."

It was true. The Chevelle needed a coat of paint and some nicer rims (when she could afford them) but otherwise she ran like a dream. Thanks to the work she put in and Mr. Toretto's help.

Letty pushed herself to her feet. "Well, I'm jet-lagged as hell girl, I'm gonna go home. Tell your Dad I said Hey."

"Will do. See you tomorrow!"