Disclaimer: I own no part of the Fast and Furious franchise. I'm just a huge fan!

Chapter Six: Fireworks

The next morning Sara found herself attending her first briefing in over a month. It wasn't by choice either, they came by the apartment before she could leave and had them 'arrested' for trespassing. So there she sat, in an uncomfortable chair, getting her ass handed to her for being MIA recently. She was pretty sure Bilkins, the lead FBI agent on the case, was getting red in the face. Of course it was difficult to tell with his dark complexion.

"My superiors are flying in from D.C. in two days. I want something to show. We've got a fence with a lube hose in is mouth, automatic weapons, priors on every one of these Asian punks. A garage full of DVD players and generally psychotic behavior. Tell me why we shouldn't move on Tran now and figure it out later?"

"Because all we have is behavior. Let me get hard evidence, because what we have now is just-" Brian was trying to buy time. He couldn't figure out why Sara wasn't saying anything as well. In fact, he noticed she hadn't said a word all morning.

"What we have is probable cause. And truckers arming themselves for some good old-fashioned vigilante mayhem." Bilkins, who had been pacing, stopped in front of Brian. "Tell me about Hector."

Sara scoffed, she knew Hector wasn't smart enough to plan something as sophisticated as a hijacking. Brian, Bilkins, and Tanner went around for a few minutes discussing what Hectors role in everything was. Bored with the conversation Sara started to zone out. She thought back to last night, she still couldn't believe that Dom had asked her out.

Flashback:
"I was thinking."
"'Bout what?"
"That I want to take you out tomorrow night."
Sara smiled, "Really?"
Dom smiled back. "Yeah really."
Trying to not act to excited she replied, "Well see there's a problem with that."
Looking over at her he asked, "What's that?"
Smiling as she opens the door she replies, "My brother doesn't like it when I date his friends.." Dom was floored. She was really saying no? Getting out of the car and walking around to the passenger side she leans in through the window she gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good thing I don't give a damn what he thinks. You can pick me up at seven." Turning, she jogs to catch up with Brian and heads home.
:End

Smiling at the memory she was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Tanner mention Dom's name. "Tell me about Toretto."

Brian answered. "I told you, I think he's too controlled for this. Going suicidal on semi-trucks? No way."

"Maybe Vince. But he's too dumb to do it." Sara finally spoke. She didn't want to be there anymore and figured her participation might speed things up a bit.

Looking between the two agents Muse, a two bit FBI agent, had to give his two cents. "I think this guy and his kid sister are blurring your vision."
Brian turned on him, "What did you say?"

Not realizing the trouble he was starting he answered. "I don't blame you. I'd get off on her surveillance photos, too."

Brian launched himself at Muse. Sara got up as well but that was more to make sure that Muse didn't get a lucky shot. She knew Brian had it covered.

Tanner had had enough and pulled Brian away. "Knock it off! What? Are you two going native on me? Have you read Toretto's file lately? Remember I told you about the guy he nearly beat to death?" Tanner pulled out a hospital photo. It wasn't something that they hadn't already seen. "Toretto did this with a three-quarter-inch torque wrench. So yeah, he's a model of self-control." Sara was starting to twitch.

"If you recall Capt., I haven't had the greatest past either." Honestly, they were acting like one bad judgement condemned a man for life. She could feel her temper flaring.

"That's different Trenton. You served your time and learned from your mistake. You made yourself a useful member of society, became a better person."

That set her off. "Better? Better! Are you serious right now? I don't think so. You know what? Fuck this. Fuck this job, fuck this mission, and FUCK YOU!" She couldn't take it anymore. This job had shown her what was missing in her life, and it wasn't a mission statement. It was fast cars and freedom.

Brian stared after her, turning back to Tanner. "You know she's sensitive about her past. I'll try to calm her down, but Tanner. I need a few more days on Toretto." Walking out the door he searched for Sara, muttering to himself, "I need a few more days."

When Brian made it back to the apartment he found Sara sitting in the darkened living room, head bowed and being held her hands. Sitting on a chair next to the couch he asked, "You wanna talk about it?" She shook her head. "Come on Sara, what's going on?"

Raising her head she looked over to where Brian was sitting. "Have you ever doubted the orders you've been given?"

"What do you mean?"

"Last night I agreed to go out on a date with Dom. I wasn't even thinking about the job when I said yes. All I thought was 'wow, this great guy is asking me out'. "

"Sara, we knew this would be hard."

"No. I knew it would be hard for you. You've had eyes on Mia ever since we got handed their profiles. I never once thought I would have an issue with it. Was I attracted to Dom? Yes, you'd have to be blind to not be. But he was never available to me, not even a blip on my radar. Now he is and I'm not sure I can separate my heart and head anymore. How do I go out with him knowing that I'm playing him?"

"You won't be playing. If you have real feeling for him, then screw it. Go for it. Deal with the other stuff when it becomes and issue."

Noting the time Sara stood up and headed for her room to change. They would be expected at the garage soon, today they were going to start puting the engine together. Turning back to Brian she paused. "Let me ask you something Brian. If it was Mia we were investigating...would you be able to 'deal with the other stuff when it became an issue'?" Not waiting for an answer she closed her door.

Later that same day, while putting the radiator in place Dom asks Brian, "You got big plans tonight?"

Brian paused what he was doing looking straight at Dom. "Yeah. We're going out to dinner."

Dom didn't want to like Brian for going out with Mia, but remembering what Sara said, he knew Mia could do worse. That wasn't going to stop him from being a big brother. "You break her heart, I'll break your neck."

"That's not gonna happen." Brian smirked. "I'd give you the same warning with Sara but I'm pretty sure that she'd get to you first."

Giving a slight chuckle Dom replied, "Yeah, she can definitely dish out more than you'd think looking at her."

Brain put down the screwdriver he was using, it was time for him to be a big brother. "You know, for her to agree to go out with you is a huge thing. Sara has had a rough past. It's made her who she is now. She never does anything she doesn't want to do. But under that hard exterior and bitchiness, is a great girl with a huge heart."

"What's your point here Brian?"

"I don't know man. I just don't want to see her hurt. She'll screw up. But you'll screw up too. It's human nature. Just...just try to listen to her when she does. Don't make assumptions or fly off the handle with her. I'm not sure she could deal with something like that well."

"Don't worry Brian. It's not my intention to hurt her."

Smiling, Brian went back to tightening the screw he had started on earlier. Dom on the other hand sat in his thoughts. He was impressed. Brian was a lot like him, watching out for his little sister's well being. It made him think of something. Standing up he spoke to Brian. "I want to show you something."

Seeing the boys leave, Sara decided it was time to talk to Letty. They hadn't spent much time together, and never outside a group setting. With her going out with Dom later that night, Sara wanted to make sure that there was no animosity to be found on Letty's end. Walking over to the car she handed Letty the wire cutters she had been reaching for. "Hey. You got a second?"

Letty looked up, shocked that someone had spoken to her. Ever since she and Dom had split she felt like everyone was walking on eggshells around her, afraid to say the wrong thing. Truth was she felt very little in the way of romance towards Dom anymore. His stay and Lompoc had changed him in ways she couldn't understand. Family was still everything to him, but there was now a hard edge to him that she just couldn't identify with. Sitting up she got out of the car, standing in front of the slightly taller woman. "Yeah, sure. Let's get something to drink. It's fucking hot in here today."

Sitting on a stack of tires while Letty grabbed a couple of drinks Sara started to speak. "Look. I know you and I haven't spent a lot of time together. Well ANY time together actually. And that is as much my fault as anyone's. But I just wanted to make sure that you were okay with me going out with Dom tonight. I know you guys had been together a long time."

Letty handed her a cold beer and leaned against the counter across from Sara. "And if I said no. That I wasn't okay with it what would you say?"

Taking a drink Sara replied, "Then I'd have to kick your ass and go anyway." Both women laughed at that. "But I know how important you guys are to each other as a family and I know that it would mean a lot to Dom if we had your blessing."

"Jeez girl, you're making it sound like your marrying him not just going on a date. Did Dom ask you to talk to me?"

"No. He has no idea I'm talking to you." Taking a sip of her drink she thought about how she wanted this conversation to go. "See, here's the thing Letty. I can see us as being great friends, I really can. We are two kick ass ladies in a man's big bad racing world. But I need to know that you're okay with everything before that can happen. Otherwise, we'll stay as we are. Acquaintances that run in the same crew with the added bonus of the occasional smack down."

Smiling at each other, it was a silent confirmation that they were good to go. It had the potential of being the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"Just do me a favor Sara. Try not to hurt him."

"Not even a thought. Now if you'll excuse me. I have a date to get ready for."

Several hours later with Brian and Mia...

The restaurant was great. The food, the atmosphere, but mostly the company. They had already eaten and talked about every mundain thing they could think of. Brian finally broached the subject of the crew.

"So, how is it, anyways, that the gang came to be?"

Mia giggled. "The what?"

"The gang."

"The gang? No, they don't call themselves a gang."

Brian smiled as he took a drink of his coffee, damning Sara for getting him hooked on the crap. "What do they call themselves then?"

"They're a team. They call themselves a team."

Leaning back in his chair he corrected himself. "All right. How did the team come to be?"

Shaking her head and looking down, Mia wanted to talk about something else. "Well, that's a whole lot of history."

Pretending to look at his watch Brian said, "I've got time."

"Okay. Well, Vince and Leon grew up with my brother. Actually, Vince didn't ever actually grow up, as you can tell. But they were friends as kids. And Letty, she just lived down the street. Always into cars, though. Ever since she was, like, 10 years old. So, naturally, my brother always had her attention. And then she turned 16-"

Brian cut in, "And then she had Dom's attention."

Shaking her head at the memories she responds, "Yeah. It's funny how that works, isn't it?"

"So how does Jesse fit into the whole thing?"

"Jesse. Well, Jesse just sort of showed up one night and never, ever left. It's just the way my brother is, you know. Dom's like...He's like gravity. Everything just gets pulled to him. Even you."

Leaning forward Brian shook his head. "No. The only thing that pulled me in was you. Being friends with your brother is just a bonus."

Mia stared at Brian. It was the first time anyone had ever said that she was what pulled them to the group. Even other guys she's dated had only wanted to date her in the hopes of getting in Dom's good graces. It felt nice to come first. "You want to go for a drive?"

With Dom and Sara...

They had been driving around for a while. At this point Sara knew he was driving in circles. Dom had put a blindfold on her and she wasn't allowed to peek. It was starting to irritate her, she hated surprises, and Dom wouldn't even answer any of her questions. All he had told her earlier in the day was to dress comfortable.

"Come on Dom! Where the hell are you taking me?"

"Weren't you ever told that good things come to those who wait?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure whoever came up with that line knew what the hell they were waiting for. We've been driving forever!"

"You know whining is really not an attractive quality."

"Bite me."

"Maybe later. You can stop your whining now. We're here." She felt the car slowly come to a stop and the engine die. Reaching up to remove her blindfold she was stopped by Dom.

"Wait just one more minute." She heard his door open and close, the same with the trunk. And then she sat there. Honest to god if he wasn't back in the next thirty seconds... She was startled by her door opening.

"Follow me." Taking her hand he pulled her out of the car and lead her to their destination. Thank god she'd decided against heels, she was having a hard enough time keeping her balance in sandals.

Suddenly she could see, and she was speechless. Her surprise was a picnic on the beach. There was a blanket on the sand, a bucket of Corona, and even a small bonfire lit a few feet away. "You didn't seem like a fancy restaurant type of girl."

"Dom." She was having a hard time finding the words. Dom seemed to realize this and led her to sit on the blanket. She laughed when he pulled out Chinese take out. Not exactly your usual picnic fair, but somehow perfect for them.

They sat and talked for what seemed hours. They laughed at corny jokes, compared childhoods, and of course they talked about their favorite cars. She'd eaten her fill and had had more than a couple of beer, with lime, so she was starting to feel a bit more than a little confident. "So we've got a beautiful scenery, a bucket full of my least favorite beer, and crappy Chinese takeout. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to seduce me."

Dom smiled over to Sara. She seemed to be glowing in the firelight. She looked completely relaxed and had never been more attractive to him, but she was right. The food had been terrible. "Maybe that was the idea."

"Well it's not like I can go anywhere, you're my ride after all. So now that you have me out here, what are you going to do with me?"

It took him a minute, but instead of responding to her verbally Dom grabbed her chin and leaned in.

Growing up, Sara had never believed in fairy tales. Never believed in fate or soul mates. And when she started dating, she certainly had never hear angels singing or had stars explode behind her eyes.

But when Dom's lips touched hers, all other sounds disappeared and Sara saw fireworks.

Authors Area:

Aaaaand there it is! The date. I've always pictured Dom as being extremely intense but also very romantic in his own way (hence the Corona and Chinese food instead of flowers and wine). And I didn't think either of them would be comfortable in a fancy restaurant.

We are officially over the halfway mark in the movie, and a bit over halfway done with the story. A big shout out to everyone that has thrown their two cents in on how to have Sara 'come out' as a cop to Dom. I'm still taking suggestions to get to reviewing people!

And just a reminder, check out my profile for some pictures on what Sara looks like and the outfits she wears throughout the story!

Until Next Chapter,
Ramzgurl