Thank you so much for the great reviews! I'm inspired to keep writing. I have done some research on timelines, and since the franchise mucked with it so much, I don't feel as bad for mucking with it myself. I'm going based on what they've described anyway. I hope you like the surprises in this chapter!
Flashback to the year 2013
"They really need us?" Giselle asked Han. They were back at their place after being ambushed by the Japanese police.
"Yea. What do we do with...?" he paused, gesturing to their little bundle peeking at them from her car seat. Han wished they had gotten to talk about settling down properly before getting interrupted. They couldn't keep living like this with a baby involved. It was too dangerous. Lei was already close to one years old. She had been a major surprise to both of them, but it had increased Giselle's love for both of them instead of making things awkward.
"I think we need to give her to someone to keep her safe," Giselle said thoughtfully. "Any ideas?" Han had one, but it was a long shot. He'd pretty much abandoned his family when he was 18 years old to go off and live his life.
"We have to try," Giselle said, reading his mind. Han sighed. It really was their only other option. They didn't want the gang knowing about Lei just yet. They'd never hear the end of it. Han was very protective of their daughter. He hoped she would understand why they were doing this.
Flash Forward to the Year 2014
Han was devastated by his loss. Giselle was everything to him. He was going to return to Tokyo where they had semi started a life. He thought about Lei. He figured she would be better off where she was than with him. He was a coward, he admitted it. He had abandoned family before, why not again? He also couldn't bear to look at that sweet little face and see Giselle. It would kill him every single day. He couldn't do it. He hoped Lei could forgive him. He didn't think he'd ever forgive himself.
Flash Forward to Now
Han stopped the car and flipped it into park. He left it idling. He was outside of the home he was raised in, the family home that had been left to his sister. He had heard the news of his parents' death through the media. It had broken his heart. He knew it was risky traveling with the Japanese Mob after him. Deckard had warned him heavily to stay hidden for the rest of his life. So why was he here now? He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He didn't think he'd get forgiveness. It sure as hell wasn't discussed when he dumped Lei here almost five years ago. His parents had reluctantly taken her because she was their granddaughter, and they couldn't hate a baby. He ran his fingers through his hair again. Would his sister kick him out? He had to try. He got out of his car and made his way to the front door and knocked. It was flung open a little harshly. His sister stood there staring at him for a brief second before slamming it in his face.
"Come on!" he called. "Talk to me."
"No! You're a rat bastard who is nothing but a coward who abandons their family!" she shrieked.
"I agree with everything you just said," Han told her through the door. He could hear her shifting her feet. She opened it again a crack.
"You do?"
"Yes."
"Why are you here?"
"I heard about Mom and Dad." Han looked at her sadly. She was ten years younger than him. An accident his parents had jokingly said once, but she was adored. He was crowding 45, so that would make her almost 35. Ironically, Giselle had been closer to her age than his. They would have been great friends he figured.
"She asks about you every day," his sister said.
"I know. I've been on the run," Han offered.
"That's nice. Why are you bringing that shit here then? Go continue being on the run," she scoffed.
"I wanted to see her," he explained.
"No. Not a good idea. You'll unravel every bit of progress we've made. She starts school soon. She doesn't need this trauma."
"So I'm trauma now, am I?" Han asked.
"Yes. You are. You traumatized me by leaving, and I won't let you do the same to Lei," his sister snapped.
"Can I just...look at her?" Han asked. "That's all I'm asking." His sister stood there thinking about it. She opened the door further to let him in.
"Only through the window, you hear me? She's outside playing," she said. Han nodded. He peeked out to see Lei playing in the sandbox. His breath caught. She was beautiful, and she looked exactly like Giselle.
"I'm sorry about your girlfriend," his sister said, cutting into his thoughts.
"How did you...?" Han began.
"Hey, baby!" a voice called. "Sorry I'm late. They didn't have...ohhhh shit." The man stopped in his tracks.
"What the HELL?" Han asked, outraged.
"What the hell?!" Tej exclaimed back at the same time. "You're alive?!"
"You're with my sister?!"
"Dude. I thought you knew," Tej said. He looked at Han's sister.
"He didn't," Suki said.
"You're unbelievable," Han said to Tej. "All this time...?"
"In my defense, I came into the picture after you left. I had...I had no idea..." Tej stammered.
"Surely you saw pictures," Han gestured.
"I didn't have any," Suki said. Tej nodded in agreement.
"But...you're alive," Tej said, still stuck on that fact. "How?" Lei's attention was on them now. She was craning her neck to see inside.
"Auntie?" she called.
"Get out," Suki hissed. "Now!" She shoved Han to the front door.
"You can't keep me from her. This isn't over," Han growled at her. She slammed the door in response. Han stood there shocked. Tej and Suki. His sister with Tej. What the hell was going on? He kicked the gravel. He needed some advice, especially if he ever wanted to see Lei again, but he had no one to turn to. To the world, he was dead. How did one come back from that?
Dom's place
"Why have we been called to this powwow?" Brian asked, settling into the couch. Mia and Letty were with the little ones in the playroom. Brian still felt leery of Deckard and didn't fully trust him. Hobbs was standing military position beside Deckard, who was imitating him. Dom returned from the kitchen with beers for all.
"Hobbs says that Deckard has something to tell us," Dom explained, sitting on the edge of the cushion of the couch beside Brian. "Care to begin?" He looked at Deckard, nodding.
"Han's alive," Deckard said, getting right to the point. Brian choked on his beer while Dom simply sat there staring.
"That's impossible," Dom said calmly. "We buried him. I brought him home."
"You thought you brought him home. You didn't," Deckard responded. He stared at Dom evenly.
"What the hell are you on about?" Brian asked angrily. "You waltz in here and say Han's not dead when you actually killed him and sent a bomb to my house..." Dom cleared his throat pointedly.
"...our house," Brian corrected. "Then you tried to kill the rest of us. Now you're saying Han's not even dead?"
"That's right," Deckard said. "Are you all this small minded?"
"Easy," Hobbs said as Brian rose to his feet. "The man has poor manners."
"Look," Deckard said, ignoring Hobbs. "I made a promise to a friend of mine to do a favor when it was needed. Han needed that favor. I faked his death, and he disappeared like we went over. Now, the Japanese mob has contacted my agency and want me to find Han. That can't happen. He'll definitely be killed then."
"Who was the friend?" Brian demanded. He was clutching his beer hard. This was all confusing and hard to follow.
"Giselle," Deckard replied.
"Giselle?" Dom asked before Brian could. "Really."
"Yea. She saved my ass in the field. I said I owed her. I saved Han," Deckard said simply.
"So is Giselle still alive too? Since you're good at faking deaths?" Brian snapped.
"No. She's gone," Deckard said. "I wish I could say differently. She was one hell of a woman."
"Let's stay focused here," Dom said, gesturing for Brian to sit again. "Where is Han?"
"I don't know. Hiding somewhere very well. I need to either find him first or head him off so they don't find him," Deckard said.
"What if we made a fake death certificate?" Letty asked from the doorway, having heard most of the conversation.
"The last one didn't fool them," Deckard said. "And I did a damn good job making it look like he'd died."
"You sure did," Dom agreed.
"How did they find out he didn't die?" Brian asked.
"I don't know. I was careful not to have witnesses, but maybe someone saw," Deckard shrugged. "I'm only one man."
"It's kind of ironic that they are getting you to find him," Dom pointed out. "Since you're the one who got him out in the first place."
"I know," Deckard said. "That's why I'm thinking I'm over my head here."
"What do you want us to do about it?" Brian asked. "I don't do this shit anymore."
"You don't have to," Dom said. "I can handle this."
"Ahem," Letty coughed. When he looked at her, she jutted her head towards the kids.
"It's not like I'm being chased by a killer," Dom said. "I'm just looking for an old friend."
"Maybe so, but I don't think it's a good idea to leave us," Letty said. She felt scared being alone with little Brian.
"I won't be long," Dom reassured her. Mia was standing with Letty now, the kids able to entertain themselves for a moment.
"Brian?" Mia asked. The look she gave him was clear.
"I'm out," Brian said. "You're gonna have to do this alone, man." Dom nodded.
"So," Dom said. "Let's get started."
Suki & Tej
"You know my brother?" Suki asked angrily. Tej was standing there looking sheepish.
"I didn't know he was your brother," Tej defended himself. "I swear. Also, I thought he was dead."
"Unbelievable," Suki said, storming into the other room. Tej followed.
"Look, baby, I would have told you if I'd known, but you were right, there's no pictures! If I had seen at least one, I would have known," Tej went on.
"Here," Suki snapped, shoving a wallet sized photo into his chest. "Have a good, hard look." She pushed past him as he studied it. It was definitely Han.
"Damn," he said. "Now where was that before?"
"It's the only photo I have," Suki said. "It's his grade 12 graduation photo right before he took off. He never cared about me. I looked up to him, and he left me. I was eight years old. I was devastated! Then he dumps his kid here and vanishes again. I hate him!"
"I'm sorry," Tej said, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Lei was Han's child as well as the fact Han was alive. "But maybe he's changed. I've worked with him before. He's a good guy."
"No, he's not!" Suki cried, spinning around. "You know what? Get out."
"What?"
"Get out! If you're such good friends with him, then go live with him!" she shouted. Tej stood there in shock as she went outside to see Lei, who was becoming visibly upset by the shouting. Tej watched as she picked up Lei and soothed her. There really wasn't anything else he could say to her right now. He knew better than to push the issue when she was so upset. He'd try again later. He set the photo down onto the kitchen table and walked out. He needed to find Han. But first, he needed to call Brian.
Brian & Mia
The car ride home was fairly quiet. Both were thinking about the events that had taken place that night. Mia sat there looking at her husband, and she knew exactly what he was thinking.
"You want to go, don't you?" she asked.
"I'd like to see him again, yes, but I made you a promise," Brian replied. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm honoring that promise."
"Thank you," Mia said. The kids were asleep in the backseat. She felt relieved that he was not going with Dom, but she also felt guilty for making him stay.
"Don't feel guilty," he said, reading her mind.
"How do you do that?" she asked.
"I just know you very well," he grinned. "Look, they'll find him and bring him home. Then we all live happily ever after."
"I thought we were living happily ever after?" Mia asked, laughing.
"We were. We are. This just makes it happier," Brian replied. "I love you, Mia. I'm not going anywhere."
"I love you too," she replied. A part of her still felt guilty. She didn't think it would go away.
Dom & Letty
"I am not a mom," Letty said. "I belong out there with you!" They were faced off in the bedroom.
"Letty," Dom began.
"Don't 'Letty' me," she retorted. "You know as well as I do that we do shit together. I can't just sit here with Brian and wonder where you are and what you're doing all the time!"
"Well, he can't come with us," Dom said, annoyed. "So what do you suggest?"
"Let Mia watch him," Letty suggested.
"No," Dom said almost immediately. "They've got enough on their plates." Brian had confided in him about what the gypsy woman had said about his father. He knew Brian was going to dig deeper into it.
"This isn't...right," Letty said. She was going to say fair, but she changed her mind.
"I know. It's not for long, and I trust you more than anyone to protect Brian," Dom said, pulling her into a hug now.
"Why do you make it all sound so easy?" Letty asked, her voice muffled by his chest.
"It's a gift," he teased. "Look, I'll call every day. You'll be the first to know anything, and when I get back, well, let's just say the reward will be great."
"It better be," she warned, smiling. He gave a chuckle as she climbed into bed. He went to say goodnight to Brian first. He stood over his son's crib and marveled at how this little being was his.
"I'll be back soon," he promised. He gently touched Brian's little cheek before leaving and going to bed. It was going to be an early morning.
