Thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites! Much love!

Ready for the aftermath?

Enjoy X

Everything seemed to be frozen in time; no one made a move and Letty would've sworn that her heart stopped beating for three beats, as she took in the sight infront of her.

'Dom...' She breathed out, her eyes not moving off the figure infront of her.

'I know... I know' he answered, in same tone, before slowly reaching for the door handle, motioning for his wife to do the same.

Together they stepped from the car, cautiously rounding the car and perching against the engine, allowing their daughter to make the first move.

When she didn't move, Letty slowly took a step towards her, only for her daughter to take one back. 'Okay... you can make the first move. No pressure' Letty told her gently, raising both hands in surrender and stepping back next to Dom.

However, it was when she looked Dom in the eye, that Dom's face hardened.

'Dom! No!' Letty's voice seemed far away and he checked over his shoulder to find Letty still leaning against the car. He had moved without even realising it and was stood infront of his daughter.

He turned back to face her and gently pulled the hood from her zip up down, revealing the long black curly hair tied up in in a messy bun and the object of what had caught Dom's attention. 'Who did that to you?' He asked, hearing Letty's gasp and running footsteps.

'It was no one. I ran into door at home' Mariella lied, causing Letty to let out a snort of disbelieve and shake her head.

'You can't pull the wool over my eyes, sweetie. Someone hit you didn't they? And judging from the bruise, it was very fairly recent, right?'

'Don't call me sweetie, I'm not your sweetie! I'm not anybodies sweetie!' Mariella slurred, causing Dom's eyes to narrow.

'Have you been drinking? It's not even one in the afternoon!' Dom scolded his daughter.

'Oh cool it, sir! It was just a few drinks at home and then a taxi cab into town. No biggie! And anyway...' Mariella said, swaying on the spot and pointing at Dom. 'Who are you to tell me what to do?' The young girl blinked as she tried to clear the double vision.

'I'm your father, that's who I am. What the hell do you are doing?' Dom asked, his hands gripping her shoulders.

She stared at him for a few seconds, the look identical to one Letty gave him, as she laid in his arms, when he had saved her life on the convoy in Spain.

'Let me go, you're killing my buzz!' Mariella moaned, pushing Dom away from her and turning away from her parents.

'Whoa! You're not going anywhere, missy!' Letty said firmly, pulling her daughter back round to face her. 'Not in the state you are in!' She disciplined, her hand holding her daughter firmly in place.

'Get-' whatever threat was going to come out of her daughters mouth, Letty let out a shriek of disgust when vomit replaced the words.

Dom groaned but managed to catch his daughter as she swayed on the spot when Letty let go of her. He swept her in his arms and carried her to their car, Letty following once she had ridden herself of the sick stained jacket she was wearing.

'This is not how I planned to meet our daughter after all these years!' Letty growled as she climbed into the back seat and pulled her drowsy daughter along the backseat, cradling her face in her lap.

She glared at Dom when he slammed the passenger door shut loudly and rushed round to the drivers side, climbing in and looking anything to keep his daughter from spewing in his car.

'Glove comparment' Letty said, grabbing the paper bag from Dom when he handed to her. She opened it up and instructed their daughter to spew into there and not on the floor.

'Not exactly the perfect reunion is it?' Dom commented as he watched Letty with their daughter.

'Which bit? Almost running her over or the fact that she's drunk?' Letty asked, looking at Dom through her lashes, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she did so.

Dom opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it when Mariella groaned and grabbed the bag. He grimaced, as did Letty, and focused on starting the car, starting the drive back to their house, for once in his life sticking to speed limit...

Muffled voices where the first thing she became aware of as she came round. The room spun dangerously as she tried to sit up, but the heaviness of her head prevented her from doing so.

From where they were stood by the kitchen counter watching the sunset slowly over L.A with a Corona in their hand, Dom and Letty, who had showered and changed, turned their heads in the direction of their daughter and Dom straightened up as Letty took control.

'How are you feeling?' Letty asked, as she walked round the sofa and kneeled next to her daughter, who took a deep breath and sat up, glancing round the room before her eyes settled on the older version of herself.

'Oh fuck!' Before Letty could comprehend what was happening, Mariella shot from the sofa and leapt over the back of it, the adrenaline replacing the dizziness.

Dom quickly moved and intercepted the front door, baracading it with his body, as Letty skidded to stop infront of her daughter, stopping her in her tracks.

'Mariella Lucia, listen to me! It's okay. It's okay... I promise, I promise' Letty's calming words seemed to do the trick, however when she went to cup her daughters cheek, her daughters stance changed.

Mariella seemed to freeze when she saw Letty's hand heading for her face and the flinch that crossed her face didn't exactly help. Letty quickly withdrew her hand, hiding her hurt.

'So, after fifteen years of finally wondering where you guys are...' Mariella trailed off, her smile almost cocky, before turned to Letty. 'You know... I always wondered what a real life zombie would look like and now I'm staring at one...' The bite to her tone had Letty biting her tounge to keep her mouth shut.

'Don't speak to your mother that way. There's a lot things you don't know -'

'I don't know anything about you guys, apart from the fact that I'm adopted and my mother is supposed to six feet under the ground, but behold, unless ghost do exist, here she stands'

'Okay, let's get one thing straight right now, I know you hold a lot of resentment towards me and your dad and that's understandable, but what I won't tolerate is-'

'Resentment?' Mariella laughed humourlessly and glared at her parents. 'Do you want to know what I went through when I was growing up? My adoptive Dad dying, my little sister having mental health problems and to top all that off, my adoptive mom is hardly ever around, so I have to make sure my sister takes her medication, make sure the bills are paid and that there's food in the fridge so we don't starve all the while making sure my coursework is handed in on time so I don't get kicked out of school!'

Both Dom and Letty were silent for a minute, allowing their daughters words to sink in.

'Was it Darcy? Who gave you the black eye?' Dom asked, his hands clenched at the thought of someone laying a hand on his daughter, who shook her head.

'My sister did it. She lashed out while she had episode, not the worse injury I've sustained from her' Mariella told her Dad, before looking at the clock.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Letty had another question. 'How long have you been drinking?'

'None of your buisness how long I've been drinking' Letty raised an eyebrow at her daughter.

'You are our daughter, and while you're under this roof-'

'I have to respect your rules, blah blah. Well, here's the thing... I didn't grow up with you guys, I grew up with my parents, the ones who raised me from birth... So, technically I'm not your daughter... by law anyway'

'You're our daughter by blood whether you like it or not' Letty told her, firmly, her eyes dark.

'But you're not my parents by law!' Mariella retaliated. 'You stopped being my parents the second you both signed me away to them after I was born! You can't tell me what to do' Mariella shouted, looking between both of them.

'Where are you getting the money from to stay the Cinemas Suites? I've had a look on their website and their rooms are like hundred dollars a stay' Letty asked

'Again. None of your buisness! Now, are we done here? I've got a sister to take care of' Mariella stated, folding her arms and raising her eyebrows at Dom, who was still baracading the door.

Dom and Letty had a silent conversation with each other for a few minutes, before Dom slowly moved out of the way and allowed her to leave.

The slam of the door was the typical teenager attitude...

Once she was outside and safely away from the front door of her biological parents house, Mariella dropped to the floor, her feelings overwhelming.

She rested her head on her knees and breathed deeply, before the tears came fast.

She hadn't wanted to meet to her parents drunk, although almost been knocked down by her Dad wasn't the way she had wanted to do it either.

While she didn't feel bad about the way she talked to her parents, she did feel guilty about flinching when her mother cupped her cheeks. While it was instinct to flinch, Mariella didn't miss the flash of hurt in Lettys eyes. She knew her mother was trying to make her calm but the image of her sisters hand flying towards her flashed through her brain.

She sighed and climbed to her feet, turning back to look at the house, just once, before setting off back into the centre of L.A, keeping her eyes peeled for a taxi...

'She's exactly like you when you were her age' Dom commented as they watched their daughter, disappear round the hedges, through the floor to ceiling windows.

'Like mother like daughter, attitude wise' Letty said, her tone soft.

Dom chuckled softly, kissing the back of her head. 'Well, we knew that from day one' he joked, wincing when his wife elbowed him in the ribs.

They fell into silence for a few seconds, before Letty broke it. 'Maybe we should follow her, makes sure she gets home okay?' Letty turned in her embrace to look at him.

'Let, just give her some space. She probably feels overwhelmed' Dom reasoned, rubbing her back.

'But-'

'Hey guys, this a bad time?' Brian asked, as he opened the front door after knocking.

'Um... no, come in. What's up?' Dom asked, looking at him.

'Just wondering what everything was about yesterday? Mia came home and hasn't uttered a word and she left for work at seven, this morning, still nothing' Brian set a swimming trunk clad Jack on his feet and he ran to his Tia, who scooped him into her arms before turning her attention back to Brian.

'We just had a little... disagreement about something.' Letty told Brian, who folded his arms.

'Which was? Guys, come on. We're family' Brian told them, leaning against the corner of the kitchen counter.

'I know, but it's something delicate. And I want to make sure it's... permanent before we tell you' Letty said, looking at Dom, who nodded.

'So delicate my other half won't speak to me?'

'Yeah... she needs time to get her head round it' Dom answered, hearing the patio doors open behind him and Letty telling Jack to be careful in the pool, before returning to Dom's side.

'Listen Buster' Her voice was soft ad she said his old nickname, as Brian rolled his eyes. 'I promise, we will tell you... just give us time' she continued, softly.

Brian sighed in defeat. 'You're not dying are you?'

'What? No!' Dom exclaimed, while Letty laughed.

'Just want to make sure. Fine, tell me when you're ready' Brian said, smiling at the two of them.

'We will, you'll be the first to know.' Letty said, placing a comforting hand on Brian's arm.

He looked between them both before his attention turned to his son, who was shouting at him from the pool. He headed outside, feeling Dom and Letty watching him as he did.

'She will come round the idea of having us back in her life, right?' Letty asked Dom quietly, staring at him.

'Hopefully. How would you feel if you were in her shoes though?'

'The same probably... Well, she knows where we live, the balls in her court now right?' Letty asked, although Dom knew she was hiding the fact that their daughters words had hurt her. He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.

'Just give her time, thats all we can do at the minute...' he murmured into her hair, feeling her tighten her arms round his waist in comfort...

R&R X