Title: Through Another's Eyes

Rating: T

Ship: Dom/Letty

Description: A background, foreground and future fic surrounding Dom and Letty and the circumstances involved in the movie. Answering a lot of questions the movie left open.

Disclaimer: I wish. The things I could do with Dominic. ;)

Chapter 17

Letty's POV

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Nothing ever turns out the way you expect. I didn't expect I'd end up sitting in an emergency room near the Mexican border when we left for the last job. And the last thing I ever expected to hear was that I was pregnant. Fear raced through me the minute I heard those words. Fear for myself, for Dom, for the baby. I'd been banged around pretty bad when the car flipped. Our whole world had been turned upside down, nothing was certain; I didn't even know the fate of those left behind. Thankfully the doctors told me that everything was fine with the pregnancy. I'd actually got off pretty lucky. I had two cracked ribs, a chipped tooth and a fat lip. It could definitely have been worse. But in saying that, it sure as shit could have been better.

When Leon and I had driven off, leaving Dom and Mia at the house, I hadn't said a word to him. I hadn't said a word to anyone. I was so angry with Dom. I blamed him for it all. I ignored my own role in it, everyone else's roles in it; all I could see was Dom. All I could think was it was Dom's fault. So when Leon told me it would all be ok, as soon as we got to Dom, I started laughing. We were in the car, leaving the hospital on our way to the rendezvous point in Mexico. It was the first sound I'd made since leaving for the heist. I saw him jump out of the corner of my eye. He wasn't expecting that reaction from me. And I wasn't expecting the pain that ripped through me from it.

"Lett, are you ok?" His voice was so concerned.

"I'm fine Leon. But it's not going to be ok when we get to Dom. He can't make any of this ok." I didn't recognize my own voice. It was laced with so much hate. And for the last person in the world I could have ever imagined. I didn't have any idea what I was going to say when I saw Dom, and for the first time in my life, I didn't want to see him. To make things worse, I didn't know how Vince was. He was in the hospital and he was alive; that was all the information we could get.

We drove for over an hour and the whole time I kept my eyes closed trying to come up with something to say to Dom. Something worth the effort. Everything had been so strained and weird between us for over a year, and everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks just made the gap between us larger. But now, now we had a baby on the way. I didn't know how to tell him, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't really want to tell him. When the car rolled to a stop I finally opened my eyes and looked around. We were parked outside this little cabin house. It was kind of beautiful. But what I remember most was the smell of the ocean. As soon as Leon opened his door I was assaulted by it. It was incredible. But the moment only lasted a second before reality slapped me in the face.

I got out of the car, I don't remember the steps up to the house, and I don't remember who opened the door, I only remember standing inside the front door and looking at Dom. He was standing in the middle of the room. I remember looking past him, trying to find the quickest route for escape should the need arise. There were doors leading out onto a patio behind him, and wouldn't you know it, it opened up onto the beach. If the circumstances had been different I would have thought the place was paradise.

Dom stepped toward me slowly, but I wouldn't look at him. I kept my eyes on the water behind him, on the waves crashing. Suddenly his big arms were around me, surrounding me, and the pain from my ribs was unbearable. I pulled away with a scream of pain and ran past him straight out the door on to the sand. I remember dropping once I landed on the soft sand. My knees sunk in to the warmth but all I could feel was the pain. An overwhelming pain. It seemed to spread through me, making every part of my body ache. I don't know how long I was out there, but Dom must have followed me, I could feel him sitting beside me, but I kept my eyes closed. I was trying so hard to will the pain away.

"How's the pain?" His voice croaked but all I could do was shake my head. "I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry. I wish I could take the pain for you."

"Don't." I said before he could say anything else. I didn't want phony apologies, and meaningless words. I was just so angry. I actually wanted him to hurt. I wanted him to feel the way I felt. To feel what I'd been feeling since he got back from Lompoc.

"Tell me what to do Lett. Tell me what to do to make this right." His voice was low and deeper than ever. He didn't look at me, he knew better. He just followed my eyes and stared at the crashing waves.

"I don't know if there is anything you can do." I still didn't recognize my voice. It was almost robotic.

"There has to be. I'm not letting you go." His possessive streak kicked in and he growled. That sound would always make me shiver in such a wonderful way. But not that time.

"What if you don't have a choice?" The robot was still talking for me.

"What are talking about? You gonna make the choice for me? You've been looking for a way out for a year Lett. If this is it for you, I suppose there's nothing I can do to stop you." And his anger kicked in. You could set your watch by it. If he didn't get the exact response he was hoping for he always turned straight to anger. But he wasn't going to get away with it.

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" His confusion was laced with anger, or maybe it was his anger that was laced with confusion. It was hard to tell. There was so much of it in him. There'd been so much anger in him for so long, that the Dom I knew and loved seemed a distant memory. But I've never gone down without a fight before. If he wanted one, he was going to get one.

"I'm not going anywhere. No matter how hard you try to push me away."

"What?"

"You think I've been looking for a way out for a year? You've been pushing me away for that long. Everything you've done has been in an attempt to get rid of me. I've stuck by you through everything. So if you want me gone, man up and say so. Don't put it on me." It all came out in one fuming breath. It hurt my chest, my ribs; I struggled to take in air through the pain. But I was determined not to let him see.

"I have not been trying to push you away; I've been trying to hold on to you." The anger seemed to dull for a moment. But I knew it would be short lived. We still had so much fight left in us.

"This is your way of holding on? What happened to my Dominic? The one before Lompoc. You turned in to such a tough guy. You don't tell me anything. You don't trust me anymore. Do you even love me anymore?" I knew what I was doing. Playing that card. It always pushed his buttons, made him open up. But the truth is, I really was starting to doubt it. By confronting him I knew I'd get an honest response, and I thought that a declaration of love yelled in anger was better than none at all at the time.

"Don't start with that again. You know how much I love you. Everything I do is for you, for us." He looked towards the water, and I wanted to believe him, I really did. But I couldn't.

"Bullshit. Everything you do is for you Dom." He turned back to me sharply, the anger so vivid in his eyes that for a moment I thought that maybe I should have been scared of him. Scared for myself. But still, my heart knew better and it wouldn't let me give in to my head. I had nothing to fear. Dom would never physically hurt me. Not intentionally. No matter how angry he got. And boy did he get angry.

"You think I liked it? You think I wanted to put you in danger like that? All of us. I hated it."

"Did you really? Or did you get a thrill from it? From the speed and the hunt. I know you Dominic, you feed off shit like that." It wasn't fair. Using his love of cars against him, his love of racing. It wasn't fair, but I knew what it would do and I wanted to hurt him.

"I didn't want to do it. I didn't. I had no choice." He was pleading with me; I could hear it in his voice. But I wasn't willing to give in. To give up and be the good little girlfriend who goes along with her man no matter how wrong he is. I couldn't be her and I wouldn't.

"So you say." The robot had returned again.

"You know I had no choice. I… I… forget it." He was running again. But now that I think about it, I don't think he was. I think he was trying to get me to keep the fight going. He wanted more punishment, but most of all, I think he wanted me to pull the truth out of him. Drag it kicking and screaming.

"Oh no. No way Dom. Park it. You started this fight, you wanted it. Finish it." I'd been ignoring the pain in my chest throughout the entire fight, but for a moment I couldn't ignore it anymore. I looked up at him with anger, in an attempt to hide the pain.

"I don't want to fight with you Lett."

"Bullshit, you've been picking fights with me since you got back" He couldn't deny it. No one could, hell even Leon and Jesse knew what he was up to.

"I just want everything back the way it was." For a moment, he sounded just like he did when Joey was still alive. Just for a moment and it almost broke my resolve. Almost.

"We can't do that. It's impossible. But if you really want to save us. Start talking."

"What do you want me to say?" It was a real question. He really did want me to tell him just what to say to make everything ok. I couldn't give him the words, but I could set him on the right path. Because what I wanted him to say, was the same thing I'd always wanted from him, all I'd ever expected. The truth.

"I want you tell me what the hell has been going on with you for the past year."

"I don't know if I can do that." There was pain in his eyes. Dom was a proud man, he'd inherited it from his Papa and I loved it about him. But he never could see that with me, he didn't have to be. He didn't have to hide; he didn't have to be tough. He could just be free.

"Then walk away Dominic. Walk away now and don't look back." It almost killed me saying it. But I couldn't live like that. My Mama and Papi had a wonderful relationship, so did his, and they were able to do so because they didn't allow pretenses between them. They knew that they could be open and free with each other. Not only was it allowed but it was expected. They loved each other because of, not in spite of, their flaws. I wanted that kind of relationship; that kind of love. And I wouldn't settle for anything less. If Dom couldn't give it to me, the one man I wanted it from, than I couldn't be with him anymore. I'm an all or nothing kind of girl.

"I can't do that either." The fierce possessiveness was back. I think he knew that he could have been forcing me to walk. But he was so determined to be strong, that he couldn't let his guard down, not even with me. Maybe I should have walked away right then. But I just couldn't. I would give him one more chance because I believed him. I believed that he didn't want to walk away; I believed that he wanted me.

"Well it looks like you have a choice to make. Think real long and hard Dom. Because I won't be here forever. As soon as I can, I'm going home. Whether or not you come with me… well right now, that's up to." I stood up and left him sitting in the sand. I didn't look back at him; I just walked straight back into the house. I was tired, I hadn't slept and I was sore. I just needed to find a bed to collapse on. My head was pounding and not from the pain in my chest. I was so sick of it all. I lay there awake for hours that night. Just thinking about where we'd been and where we could possibly be heading. I'd even forgotten about the baby. Can you believe it? I barely can. It seems impossible but that night I lay there so worried about everything and completely confused that I didn't have time to process the news that I was given, the life inside me wasn't real to me yet. I got up more than once that night ready to get in the car and leave. But every time I got to the front door I would stop and turn back around. I couldn't do it. I couldn't walk away. He still had me. Completely.

The next morning I got up after very minimal sleep and I walked outside. Dom was sitting in the sand, in the same spot I'd left him the day before. I didn't want to walk over to him, but somehow I was standing beside him suddenly.

"Have you been out here all night?" I didn't look at him. I kept my eyes trained on the safest thing I knew right then… the water.

"I'm sorry I failed you." He sounded so defeated that it broke my heart.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't be strong enough for you. I failed you." His voice was so deep, and yet it was barely audible.

"What are talking about Dom?"

"I should have walked away." He frightened me with that.

"Away from who? Away from me?" I could hear the fear in my own voice. As much as I was trying to tell myself I could and would walk away from Dom if I had to, and never look back, the thought terrified me. I loved him with everything I had.

"Linder. I should have walked away from Linder."

"Dom…" I almost sighed with relief; I had to bite it back. But the pain in his voice… that I couldn't deny and I couldn't escape.

"No. I should have been strong enough to walk away. You needed me, Mia needed me. I had to be the man. I was supposed to be strong and I was weak. I had one job and I failed."

"Dominic…" I didn't know what to say, or how to comfort him. I turned and looked at him, but his eyes were staring blankly ahead of him. He was giving me what I wanted, even if it killed him.

"I'm sorry. Tell me you'll forgive me. Please Lett. Tell me." He finally looked at me and he looked so desperate. I wanted to grab him and hug him and tell him it was all ok, that he didn't have to talk anymore, that it would all be ok. I wanted to, but I didn't.

"Is this what you've been feeling guilty about all this time?"

"You knew?"

"Knew you felt guilty? Of course I knew. You always try to fight with people when you feel like you need to be punished. You've been doing it since you were a kid."

"I forget sometimes how well you know me." There was a slight smile on his face. It was barely there but I could see it.

"I know you better than you know yourself." I tried to smile for him, but I don't think I succeeded. I did manage to get the coldness to leave my voice though.

"Please tell me Lett." How could I deny him? How?

"Dom… I've forgiven you a lot in the past, and I never blamed you for Linder. That was all in your head. No one blamed you for that but you. So, no I won't forgive you that because there's no need. But the heists… that's different… right now, I'm pissed. I probably will be pissed for a while… but I will forgive you, eventually. There's something that I won't ever forgive you for though… if you don't cut it out. If you keep this bullshit up where you shut me out and start acting like the tough guy again, I'm gone. I can't forgive it again." They were my terms. Out on the table. Take it or leave it.

"Fair enough."

I sat down beside him. "Keep talking Dominic."

"I'm sorry about the heists. I really didn't mean for us to get involved in all of it. I just wanted to come home and start living again. I wanted to be able to make everything ok. But it was all so much. There was so much debt. All the hospital bills, the mortgage, the lawyer. I didn't know what to do; I was in way over my head. All I knew was that I couldn't tell you and Mia, because I didn't want you to worry." I let him take my hand and squeezed his fingers when he squeezed mine.

"I understand that Dom. But you have to understand something too. If we are going to work, if we are going to make it, you have to understand that we are a team. You have to tell me this stuff. We will always find a way to get through it. But I can't be wondering whether or not it's me that's got you so off kilter. I can't be worried that there is something wrong with us. If there is something wrong in our lives, we'll fix it. Just let me in on it man." It was my turn to plead, and hope.

"Ok. I'm sorry. I should have told you." He nodded and smiled at me softly.

"Yeah." I turned back to the water, and kept my eyes on its steady rhythm.

"Lett?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry you got hurt." His voice wavered slightly and I turned towards him. He looked broken. "I never wanted you to hurt baby?" He was looking at me so strangely. I'd never seen him like that before. He looked so… ashamed.

"I know that." I know it was true, I knew it then, and I know it now. This man that I've loved for so long would never hurt me, never intentionally. No, not my man, not my Dom.

TBC…

AN: Ok, so I was gone for a week. I know, I'm sorry… but this chapter really kicked my ass. I've been working on it for a week straight. I just couldn't seem to put everything in my head into words. I hope I did ok. Let me know?

Oh and remember, if I don't post for a few days, I haven't disappeared again, I'm just working on a chapter. Trying to get it right.