The day had been absolutely wonderful. Val had woke up feeling better than she ever had since Luke had left. Their bed always felt so empty when he was gone. She always woke up expecting to feel the weight of Luke next to her. Usually she woke up and his big arm was draped over her or he was pressed up against her to where some of his weight was on top of her. He always hogged the bed when they slept together, but that was okay with her because it always meant that he was touching her in some way.
He was like a blast furnace and was able to keep her warm even though they didn't have a very thick blanket for that very fact, but when he was gone she always had to get a comforter so she could stay warm throughout the night. She hated the comforter really. It was so ugly and it was uncomfortable. Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night freezing cold because she had kicked it off her at some point during the night as if she subconsciously wanted it off her. Of course, there was nothing subconscious about it.
However, that morning, she had slept in a couple extra hours. She and Sam had stayed up late watching movies together. The day before had been a very lazy day for them. Soccer was officially over for Sam and, even though her team didn't make it to the finals, she was still excited for the next year because Luke was going to be her coach. They had a girls' day the day before and Val had a blast with Sam. They had went shopping for some new clothes and shoes at the first part of the day then found some hole-in-the-wall diner to have lunch at before they headed home.
As soon as they arrived, Val suggested that they put on their pajamas and they laid around the house the rest of the day watching movies and eating junk food. Val had done up Sam's hair for her and even put makeup on her. She wouldn't tell Luke about it because Sam looked too much like an adult all dolled up in the makeup Val put on her and it would upset him. He hated thinking about how his little girl was one day going to be a young woman. They had done each other's nails then had finished the day sitting in the hot tub drinking juice out of wine glasses.
It was such a wonderful day the day before. It had been one of those days to where she wasn't so worried about Luke that much. She had sent him a text that night hoping that he would call, but maybe he was busy with his current case. It always took him a couple days to call her. The last she had heard from him, the mission was coming along nicely, but the target was being a little finicky. He wasn't able to go into too many details, but she was going to hear all about it when he got back, she was sure.
She had slept really well that night, but maybe it was just for the couple glasses of wine she had whenever Sam had finally retired for the night. She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment with a small grin on her face everything around her came into focus. She could hear the faint sounds of the television in the living room signaling that Sam was already up. Usually the girl came in and woke her up every morning if Val was still asleep, but this time Sam let her sleep in a little. It wasn't like she cared that Sam woke her up but she was glad that she let her sleep.
She grabbed her pajama bottoms that she had discarded next to the bed the night before and put them them back on. She stepped out into the hallway and stretched her arms above her head feeling some of her bones crack. She made her way into the kitchen so she could start pot of coffee. Once it was on, she made her way into the living room to find the culprit as to why Sam didn't wake her up. Dom and Sam were sitting on the couch watching cartoons together.
Sam was still in her pajamas and was snuggled up in Dom's side. Dom was wearing his typical attire. Val hated that he never had a chance to be a father because she knew he would make an excellent one. Letty had told him that she wasn't ready for kids when they had first gotten married and then they had thought that she had died. There was one point in time that she thought Elena was going to give him a child, but then Letty had come back into their lives. Now he was just trying to get her to fall for him all over again and that was proving to be quite the challenge.
"Good morning, sleepy head," Dom said as he looked up at his sister. Val yawned as she walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Dom leaned his cheek against the top of her head for a moment before lifting his head again to continue watching the show.
"What brings you here?" Val asked. Dom chuckled.
"What? You don't want to see your brother?" he asked feigning offense. Val giggled.
"No, but it is pretty weird to see you up before noon. You okay?" she asked. She felt him sigh and she knew there was something wrong.
"Make me breakfast," he demanded. Val clicked her tongue at her older brother and she sent a playful glare his way. Dom grinned at her then winked. Val rolled her eyes then looked around his broad chest at Sam who was mostly focusing on the television and not the two adults beside her.
"What do you want for breakfast, kid?" Val asked getting the girl's attention. She slowly looked to her. Sam must not have been up for long. She could still see the sleep stuck in her eyes.
"Can we do waffles?" she asked. Val looked to Dom.
"Waffles sound good to you?" she asked. Dom nodded. Val groaned as she stood up off the couch and walked to the kitchen. She could hear Dom behind her as she walked. Dom was wanting to talk. Val started gathering everything that she needed in order to make waffles while Dom made them a cup of coffee. Dom let Loki and Thor in from the backyard and fed them for Val and made sure they had fresh water.
"Me and Letty got into a big fight last night," Dom mumbled as he sat her cup of coffee next to her. Val's eyes widened as she looked over to Dom. Dom and Letty never fought with each other. They would bicker and fuss at each other, but they never had a full blown fight. Hearing those words come out of his mouth was almost foreign.
"About what?" Val asked as she leaned against the counter so she could sip on her coffee a couple times. Dom sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"About us. I had tried to kiss her and she turned away from me. I don't know why, but it just… I exploded."
"Maybe you exploded because the woman that is your wife doesn't know she's your wife because you won't tell her," Val reasoned nonchalantly. Dom glared at her. "All I mean is that you really need to tell her that she's your wife, Dom. This has got to be killing you. We need to tell her the truth. It's been over a year since she's been back and she still isn't even sharing a bed with you." Dom looked away from her.
Val started mixing together the ingredients to make the waffles. Dom was quiet for a moment. Val watched him out of the corner of her eye. She could tell that he was gnawing the inside of his cheek. He was pondering what she was saying. She knew that it was so hurtful to her brother that his wife looked at him like he was a stranger.
"I know you're right, Val. There's days where she's all over me and it seems like it was just like it was before I left. Then the next day she doesn't even want to be in the same room as me. I don't know what's going through her head anymore. Part of me thinks I need to just accept the fact that she's not the woman I fell in love with," he said. He sounded so hurt by the things he had just said and Val felt every bit of it.
"Dom…" she tried to continue, but he interrupted her.
"I know you've seen it too. I mean, shit, Val, you two were best friends and I couldn't tell you the last time that you two hung out with each other. You were always getting into something and now she barely wants to be around you. All she does is distance herself away from everyone around her and quite frankly, I'm sick of it. I want my wife back," he said staring down at his coffee cup. He scoffed then he took a drink of his coffee. "I remember a time to where we could have a full conversation and not even say anything to each other. We knew exactly what the other was thinking. Kinda like how you and Luke are with each other. We don't have that anymore."
Val had finished the mixture, but decided to wait a little before she started on the waffles. She stepped to her brother and wrapped her arms around his big frame. He held her against him for a moment before Val stepped away letting her hands rest on his shoulders.
"Dom, I know you love her. That hasn't changed since you two were teenagers. Even when you were with Elena I knew that you still thought of Letty all the time. I know that it's been difficult for you, but we can't give up on her yet. One day, her memories will come back and then everything will be normal again," she reassured him. Dom forced a grin at her.
"At least as normal as this family could be," he joked. Val chuckled at him then shrugged.
"You got a point there, brother. I mean, Mia and me both ended up with a man that, at one point in time, was trying to rip this family apart. And now look at us," she said as she went back to making the waffles. Dom chuckled.
"You know, if you would have told me this is who you two were going to end up with years ago, I wouldn't believe you. But you and Luke are good together. Just like Mia and Brian," he said sipping his coffee again.
"Just like you and Letty," Val added eyeing him with a grin. Dom grinned back at her before looking down to his coffee, but his grin soon disappeared.
"What if she's not the same woman I fell in love with? Even if she gets her memories back?" Val wondered how often Dom thought about it. It was clear that, in the current mindset of Letty, that she wasn't the same woman. There was a lot of things that had happened to her since she woke up wherever she was with absolutely no clue who she was. It was confusing to her. And now she was surrounded by people that claimed that they knew her and she had no idea who they really were.
There were times that Letty would ask Val to tell her stories of their past together and she would always oblige her as best she could. It was hard not to include stories to where it would let her know that she and Dom were married. It took everything in her power not to just blurt it out. She wanted Letty to know, but when she and Dom would discuss telling Letty that they were married, he would voice his concerns that it would scare her away and he didn't want that to happen. He had just gotten her back, after all.
"She's still Letty and that means she's still your wife. We have to be patient," Val said as the first round of waffles were done. "Just like you guys were with me when I was recovering." Dom scoffed.
"I think you're right, Val. Thanks," he said then stepped over to her and kissed her temple.
"You're welcome, now go sit at the table like a good boy and I'll bring you waffles." Dom gave her a flat look, but he still listened to her. Val yelled for Sam to come eat as well.
After they ate, Val did the dishes, then told Sam to go shower and get ready for the day. They were planning on going down to Santa Monica to the beach. She offered for Dom to come and he agreed. She figured he had said some things to Letty that he regretted and he wasn't ready for face her just yet. She was a little surprised that Letty hadn't come beating down her door looking for Dom, but that was something she would have done before she lost her memory.
Dom had driven them to the beach much to Sam's enjoyment. Dom always drove a little faster than what he needed to and always took turns a little sharper than he needed, but the little squeals of delight that came from Sam was always worth it. Val had given up fussing at Dom for driving like that with Sam in the car a long time ago. Sam had once told Luke how Dom always drove with her in the car, but Luke acted like he wasn't too worried about it, so why should Val? Besides, Dom wouldn't do anything that would put Sam in harm's way.
She was Dom's little buddy after all.
They spent the day playing at the beach. They got in the water for a while before they built some sandcastles. They had buried Sam in the sand. Val was sure she was going to be picking sand particles out of the girl's hair for months on end. They grabbed a late lunch at a restaurant before they headed back home. They had only been back for an hour when Val's cell phone rang.
She excused herself from the other two so she could answer it. She looked at the screen and saw Lett's name on it. She stepped out onto the back porch with the dogs as she answered the call.
"Hey," she said into the phone.
"Is Dom over at your house?" Letty asked. Val grinned and she sat down on one of the patio chairs.
"Yeah, he is. He said you guys got into a fight," Val said. She heard Letty sigh on the other end of the phone and Val could see her run a hand through her hair just like she always did whenever she was frustrated.
"Yeah, we did and it's all my fault. I want him to come home. I tried calling him all day, but he didn't answer. I didn't know what else to do so I called you," she said in an almost desperate tone. It was such a weird thing to hear from her. Val chuckled.
"He came over this morning really upset over your fight. He went with us down to the beach. He's building a model car with Sam right now and probably has his phone on silent," she said trying to keep things as simple as possible, but she wanted Letty to know that Dom was upset.
"I know he's upset. I guess he has every right to be. Can you tell him that I'm sorry and I would like to talk to him?" Letty asked.
"Of course," Val said as Thor came up and rested his head on her thigh so he could be petted. Val smiled at him and started scratching him behind his ears just the way he liked it. Val could have swore he got a smile on his face when he was scratched like that. Loki was laying out in what little sunshine the day had left.
"Thanks, Val. I keep waiting for this to get better between us. Some days it's really easy for me to be around him. Then on others, it's just like it was the day I woke up with no memory of who I was," she said in a small voice. Val bit her lip.
"I understand, Letty. I've been there myself. It took me a long time to recover from my accident. Even now, there's still part of me that wonders if I have fully recovered, but I did and there is no doubt in my mind that one day it'll all be better," Val said as she mindlessly played with Thor's floppy ears.
"You really think so?" Letty asked sounding a little more hopeful than she had.
"I know so," Val answered. They said their goodbyes and Val walked back into the house. She passed by the through the kitchen and grinned at Sam and Dom working on their little model car together. She watched them for a moment. Sam was leaned over the little engine that she was glueing together. She was trying her hardest to get the pieces to go together, but they kept getting stuck to her fingers instead.
She was getting really frustrated with her work judging by the growls that she was emitting as she picked them off her fingers. Dom must have gotten bored watching her glue the two small pieces together because he handed her a pair of tweezers so she could get the pieces to go together properly. Val finally approached them and put a hand on Dom's shoulder to catch his attention. He looked back to her before dropping his gaze back to the girl next to him.
"That was Letty on the phone. She's looking for you," Val said as they watched the piece of the motor finally go right into place without any fuss. Dom didn't answer her though. Instead, he watched Sam as if he didn't even hear Val's statement. "She wants you to come home."
"Later, I'm a little busy," he said as Sam pulled another piece to put onto the motor. Val sighed and rested her hands on his shoulders. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on top of his head.
"You can't hide forever," she said in a teasing tone. There was a knock on the door. Val stepped away from Dom so she could answer the front door.
"Who's hiding?" Dom asked looking at Val over his shoulder.
"You," Val shot back then stuck her tongue out at him as she left the kitchen. She heard Dom chuckle. Val made her way to the door and slowly opened it. There was a stranger on the other side of her door. It was a man with a stern look. He had peppery gray hair that was combed back neatly. He wore a suit and tie and really shiny shoes. He was so military with the way he stood that it made Val a little sick.
"Are you Valentina Toretto?" the man asked in a flat, deep tone. She nodded as her heart began to throb in her chest. She didn't like that the stranger on her porch knew her name and she had no idea who it was. She bit her lip and nodded. She heard Dom coming up behind her, but she didn't look over her shoulder at him. "I'm sorry to inform you of this, but I am afraid that Lieutenant Hobbs is missing along with the rest of his team. We are unsure at this point of their well being since their captures have yet to make any demands."
Val couldn't breathe. She barely heard what he had said. She felt dizzy. She could could see the edges of her vision growing darker. She felt her knees go weak. She felt big hands on her as she started to collapse. Feeling the large hands on her arms made her mind shoot back to Luke. She reached up and placed her hands over the hands on her arms. She tried to look back to whoever it was that was holding her, but she couldn't make out who it was.
"Luke," she choked out, but she wasn't sure if she actually said his name or not. She felt her back pressed up against a hard chest, but she knew it wasn't Luke's. She could feel the vibrations of the body behind her talking, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. The door was suddenly closed and Val was able to finish sinking to the ground. She felt arms around her. A sob escaped her lips as she buried her head in the chest that currently had her wrapped up.
How could this happen? How were they able to capture Luke? How were they able to capture his entire team? They were so capable. Were they safe? What were they being put through by their captures? Were they going to be hurt? Or worse, killed? What was she going to do? How was Sam going to take the news? She squeezed her eyes shut. They had to get him back. They had to find him.
She looked up and realized that it was Dom who had her wrapped up in his arms. She wanted to tell him that they needed to get him back, but she couldn't find her voice. Dom placed a gentle hand on her cheek and wiped away her tears.
"It's all going to be okay, Val, we're going to get Luke back," he said.
"What's wrong with daddy?" Sam asked stepping into the entrance way. Val's and Dom's eyes shot straight to the little girl completely forgetting her existence until that moment. Val looked up at her brother with pleading eyes. She wasn't sure if she could speak.
"You're dad is missing, kid. It's okay though, I'm bringing him back," Dom reassured her. Tears welled up in her little eyes and Sam darted for Val. Val opened her arms to Sam and wrapped her up in a warm embrace as Sam sobbed against her chest. Val swallowed her emotions down hard. She had to be strong for Sam. Sam had to see that she was able to keep a level head about the whole thing so Sam would have that assurance that her father was going to be coming home. She wasn't going to be trusting her voice just yet so for now, she would just settle on holding her until she stopped crying.
"I'm going to call the others and have them get here asap so we can start putting a plan together. I promise you, Val, we'll get Luke back." She nodded slowly and she believed him. Dom wiped another tear away from Val's cheek before he stood from his spot so he could start making phone calls and Val just sat there with Sam until she stopped crying.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay on this one folks. Started a new job and all. It's a lame excuse, but there it is. I rewrote this chapter several times because I didn't like how it was happening at all. Thought about taking several different routes, but chose this one in the end. Hope you guys like it.
Reviews and shit!
Aven