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 24

Dom's POV

I don't think I've ever seen Eddie as angry as he was that night. Not before and not since. I don't blame him. I would do the same thing in his position. Actually no, I wouldn't have shown so much restraint. But the most amazing thing was the love and forgiveness I saw in his eyes. In the end, it was still there. When I was so afraid and so sure that everything I had done would have banished it forever, it remained. It might sound corny or pussy, but it is one of the most precious things to me. The love that Eddie and Luce give me unconditionally. It's something to treasure.

And so is one very sweet memory of that night. It was getting really late, and we were either going to have to head out or decide to spend the night there. So I went out to Luce and Letty on the porch and saw them sitting together, wrapped around each other and crying. Now normally two crying women would be a reason to turn and bolt, but something in the way they were holding each other let me know that there was happiness there, and there was just something so beautiful about it. For a moment Letty looked like the little kid who lived down the street and Luce, like the beautiful woman that my little sister was enthralled with. It was like none of the bad shit had ever happened. That mama would be at home ready to yell at me for staying out so late while pop just laughed quietly behind a car mag. And that Joey would wave from the porch as I made my way down the street to my house.

You'd think that it would make me pissed, or sad, or something… but it didn't. It was surprisingly comforting. Almost as if it was telling me that everything would be ok. That we'd made it through the bad shit and now came the reward. If everything they say about Karma is true anyway.

I walked over to Letty and pulled her into my arms. It wouldn't be the last time over the next 6 months. And as much as I laughed with Vince, who returned home two weeks later, about crazy hormonal pregnant women, I loved every second. Not to mention, did you know that pregnant women get seriously horny? I very much enjoyed that perk of pregnancy.

Finally… we had our baby. She came with very little fanfare on March 24th, a beautiful little girl. Maria Josephine Toretto. Exactly one week before Joey's birthday. Luce was there, in the delivery room with us, while everyone else waited outside. And I mean everyone. Eddie, Mia, Vince, Leon, Jesse. The whole crazy, wonderfully dysfunctional family.

I had been trying to ignore the little looks that had been flying between Mia and Vince. Apparently while we'd been down in Mexico she'd seen him with a whole new set of eyes. By the time that Maria came along they were taking baby steps towards a relationship. I was happy for them. Vince loved my little sis. He had been in love with her for a very long time. And I trusted him with her. After everything that Brian had put her through she deserved someone who wouldn't play with her heart. Who wouldn't hurt her. Someone who was in it for the long haul.

Of course, like all things in our lives, it didn't come easy for them. They had been doing really well. Going out, enjoying each other's company and seemed to be laughing all the damn time. But it was nice. Vince was still living in the house with Mia, Letty, Maria and I, albeit in a separate room to Mia. I'm a good guy, but I ain't that good a guy. That is my little sis we're talking about here. It wasn't a problem though. Actually the only problem we seemed to have those days was a little colic with Ria. Oh, did I forget to mention that? We call her Ria. No one has a name in this family that we can't shorten. Anyway, the heists had managed to get us ahead on the mortgages, Jesse and Vince had both made full recoveries (although Vince did walk with a slight limp) and the businesses were all going hot, everything seemed too good to be true. And you know what they say, when it seems too good to be true, it is.

One Sunday afternoon when we'd all got back from church and were setting up the BBQ in the back yard the last person we'd ever imagined seeing again stalked up the driveway toward us. Brian O'Connor. It had been over a year since we'd last seen him and there he was. Mama and Papi hadn't ever met Brian, but they must have realised from our expressions who he was because they stiffened quickly and Mama picked Ria up out of her high chair and held her close to her chest.

You know, baby's can sense tension. Ria started crying and broke the silence that had engulfed us all. Letty stood up and took her from Mama. I watched Brian watch Letty rock our 6 month old daughter in shock and awe.

"What are you doing here Brian?" It was Mia who spoke first and all eyes fell to her. She didn't look upset or angry or much of anything other than stunned.

"I wanted to see you, all of you. Try to explain. I don't know really." He looked nervous and suddenly, so did Mia. I knew she had meant it when she'd told him that she didn't want him in her life anymore. I knew it as much as I knew she was falling for Vince. I couldn't let Brian waltz in here and try to fuck it up for her. No matter how good intentioned he was. Not to mention, I had a few things I wanted to say to him too.

I stood up from the table and walked over to him. I could feel when Leon and Jesse stood to come stand behind me, and noted absently that Vince had not followed. I remember fighting the urge to turn and see what he was doing. But I kinda figured he was still in his seat beside Mia, supporting her. That was after all his role now.

"O'Connor. I have a few things I want to say to you actually." He smartly stiffened and took a step back from us. "First. You're a son of a bitch. Coming in to my family, my home and lying to my face about who you were and what you were doing. I should break your neck right here… and second… thank you." I took a sick little pleasure in watching the fear and then finally the shock wash over O'Connor's face. "Thank you for doing what you did to help us out." He breathed a sigh of relief right in front of me and smiled. He wasn't going to like what was about to happen, but it had to be done. "That being said. Don't ever come back here again. You're not welcome."

Now I'm not that much of an asshole that I took pleasure in his defeated expression. But when he looked over to Mia for confirmation any sympathy I had for him evaporated. I turned to look at my sister, expecting to see a fuming Vince beside her, basically being held back. But he just sat beside her quietly, and firmly waiting for her to make a decision. As I looked to my sister I saw that any decision that had to be made had been a long time ago.

"You heard my brother. I don't know what you expect to gain from looking to me. I think you should leave now… I'm sorry." The girl was a saint. She'd meant it. She was sorry that he had put himself in this position. To be rejected so plainly and publicly. She didn't like to see anyone in pain, especially someone she had once cared about.

Brian surrendered. He dropped his head and nodded once before looking up and over at Letty and Ria, who was dozing with her head on Lett's shoulder. He smiled softly at them.

"You have a beautiful little girl Dom." I don't know if he had heard that Lett and I had a kid, or if he'd just looked at our little mini-me and known. She was after all both her mother and her father's child. It was quite strange how she looked so much like both sides.

"Thank you. I know." She really was such a beautiful baby. With chubby little limbs and rosy cheeks, big brown eyes, dark curly hair and full, pouty lips like her mama's. The combo made for an incredibly beautiful little girl. I was already worried about her teenage years and keeping boys away from my baby.

Without another word Brian O'Connor finally turned away from us and walked back down the drive and out onto the street. I watched as he drove off down the street with a squeal of his tyres, silently thanking god that all the things that could have gone wrong, hadn't. It was a close call, one we were sure Brian wouldn't try to test again.

And you'd never believe it, but six months later at Ria's first birthday party Mia told us that she and Vince would be moving out. Apparently Vince had secretly been saving all year and had saved enough money for a deposit on a house that had just been put on the market a block over. It was a nice place. Very much like our house. Both needed some work but Vince and I had made a pact that we'd help the other fix up both houses. So with a few tears from the girls and a few awkward handshakes between the guys Vince and Mia moved out two weeks later. You'd think they were moving across states the way Luce, Letty and Mia were going on. It was so unlike Letty to be so emotional. I suppose it shouldn't have come as such a surprise then that she was pregnant. We found out a month later. Another one on the way.

Letty had decided that Vince and I better get our asses into gear fixing up the house then. With two babies in the house there were a lot of things that would need to be done. And she stated in no uncertain terms that Leon and Jesse were going to be helping us. Oh well, was a good time for Mia and Letty to get to know Leon and Jesse's current girlfriends. New ones practically every other weekend. And I had the pleasure of hearing about how annoying, vapid or trampy each one was as we went to bed each night. It's a tough life.

By the beginning of summer the next year Letty was nine months pregnant and the upstairs of the house had been almost completely remodelled. Then on July 10th Anthony Edward Toretto came into the world with a bit more fuss than his sister had. Letty hadn't had such an easy delivery with the little man. But finally after 14 long hours he came screaming in to the world. It was exactly 10 months later, 11 months after Mia and Vince had been married, that little Jonathon Dominic Byers entered the world and I became an uncle.

TBC...

Author's note:
We're almost there people. Only about 1, maybe two more chapters and an epilogue. That's it. Thanks for hanging in there and for all the great reviews. I really love hearing from you guys, so please keep those reviews coming.

I need to clear something up though. The tears comment in the last chapter. It was supposed to mean hormonal tears. Pregnancy tears. Nothing bad. Only good. =] Sorry if that was a bit misleading guys.

Hope you liked this chapter and I'll be back with another real soon. Promise!