Thanks for the reviews.

Nikki2153-You are indeed graceful. Thanks for the reviews chica.

Warning: Drug talk.

Chapter 42-Changes

-Two Weeks later-

It had been weeks since the pool party and the tension around the house was growing by the second. Vince had tried many times to talk to Sasha, but she only ignored him. Even at work, she didn't speak a word to him. They didn't even sleep in the same room anymore. Sasha stayed in Desmond's room while Vince kept their room. The only time Sasha talked to Vince was when it came to Desmond. Vince spent most of his time thinking of a way to get her back. He knew it wouldn't be easy. Sasha spent most of her time with Ricky and the rest of the Team; everyone but Vince.

Ricky was an avid member of the family. She ran errands for everyone and helped out anyway she could. She got along with everyone, especially Letty and Lily. The three were the jokesters/bad-asses of the Team. The were constantly causing trouble somewhere. Ricky spent most of her time down at the store. She listened to Sasha talk about Vince constantly. She held Sasha while she cried over Vince. Ricky pushed her feelings to the side in order to be there for Sasha whenever she needed it. Ricky tried her best to avoid Vince, but whenever they came in contact, they were at each other's throats. "You two, cut it out. Geez, you'd think you're the ones related," Dominic would say.

Jayden was becoming more aware of everything in the house. She was learning where everything was and how it worked. She hadn't spoke to Vince much after that night either. She didn't like the way he reacted when he found out that she had moved in. She also didn't like the way he had hit Sasha. She knew he didn't act like this all the time, but that still didn't make it right. Jayden was getting a long fine with the Team. They accepted her and involved her in everything they did. She spent most of her time with Ricky's sister, Chrystal. They hung out in school. After school, they'd go straight to the store. They went to the mall and movies. They TRIED to stay out of trouble.

At school one day, one girl tried talking trash to Jayden about something unimportant. Chrystal was at her side in a second to make sure nothing happen. She said it herself, she had a knack for fighting. The confrontation resulted in the girl with a broken nose and Chrystal two days suspension. Jayden apologized for getting her in trouble, but Chrystal just laughed.

"I told you, I live for this shit," she replied.

The two were a lot like Sasha and Diana. Jayden was the quiet but angry one, Chrystal was just angry. They were inseparable.

On the lower level of the house was where Diana and Jesse were moved into. The house had plenty room. The second floor of the house was like a whole other house. There were three spare bedrooms. Sasha and Diana spent a day moving her things into one of the spare rooms. They best friends had plenty to catch up on. Diana filled Sasha in on the Tej situation, which left her speechless. Sasha filled in the blanks on the situation with Ricky, which in return, left Diana speechless.

Jesse was now enrolled into a drug/alcohol abuse with Dr. Carlos Draco. He went every two days, from ten p.m. until four p.m. He avoided beer as much as he possibly could. He kept to drinking water and energy drinks, which he didn't need. His A.D.D. was resurfacing, which he didn't mind. He missed his perky personality. When he wasn't in class, he was with the guys working out. While he was addicted to the cocaine, he had dropped down fifty pounds. He wanted to retain his slightly built figure, plus some. When he wasn't in class or at the gym, he devoted all his to his daughter, Jessica. He took her to the park and bought her new toys. He sat up with her all night just watching her. He listened to her baby talk, wishing he could understand. Jesse even turned down the job Dominic offered him at the garage. He wanted to get everything situated before he went back to working for Dom.

Over at the Toretto house, Letty was yet to tell Dom the good news about being pregnant. She wasn't exactly sure how he'd react, regardless to what Mia said. She went to the doctor for her check-up; everything was still fine. She was a little over two months pregnant. Dom questioned her on why she was acting tired and ill. "Go to Hell Dominic, I'm fine," was her response every time. He would get pissed and storm off. She wanted to tell the kids, but she knew Elijah couldn't keep a secret to save his life. She knew it was killing Mia not to scream it to everyone. She just wanted to make sure everything was perfect before she told them.

On the flip, Dominic was always avoiding the questions of what went down in Miami. He didn't want to talk about it with the ladies. He didn't want them getting frantic over nothing. When Letty questioned him about the race that Elijah had managed to spill, he replied with 'go to Hell Leticia, it's nothing". She would smirk and walk away. At the pool party, Hector spoke with Dominic about returning to the scene. Hector begged, claiming that "the streets ain't seen good talent since the Torettos left". Dominic only shrugged. He missed racing but he wouldn't dare do anything to jeopardize his family's safety. He didn't want to return to phase one - racing and constant partying.

Xxx

Vince's POV

It was about 5:15 p.m. I was stepping out the shower when there was a knock at the bedroom door. I smiled, hoping and praying it'd be Sasha. I wrapped a towel around my waist as I walked to the door. I swung it open; it was Jayden.

"Wow, you look disappointed," she looked away nervously.

"Sorry, I was hoping it'd be Sasha. C'mon in," I pushed the door open, letting her in.

"Sasha here?" she flopped down on the bed. She was becoming more and more comfortable around the house. I was glad for that.

"No, she took Desmond to his doctor's appointment. Why? Everything alright?" I asked, pulling some clothes from my dresser and tossing them on the bed.

"Yeah, everything's cool. I just needed a ride over to my old house to get a few things," she replied, standing from the bed.

"Oh. Well I'll take you. I was wanting to go see her anyways. Give me about ten minutes," I said, shutting the drawer. She nodded and shut the door behind her. I sighed heavily and continued drying off. I slipped on my boxers and a pair of old, worn out jeans afterwards. I shoved my feet into my boots and walked over to the dresser. There was a photo of Sasha, Desmond, and I a week after he was born. We looked so happy. I kissed the picture and grabbed my cell phone from the dresser top. I pulled on a red-camouflage mesh tank and a white one on over it. I pocketed my car keys and exited the room.

"Ready to go?" I asked Jayden, who was sitting in the living room watching the television. She nodded and flicked it off.

The car was silent, minus the directions Jayden gave ever-so-often. Sasha was right - this house was a wreck. Jayden gave me an assuring nod and exited the car. I just sat for a few moments. What if she didn't remember me? I mean, it's been years since we've seen each other. I couldn't just walk in and expect her to be all smiles at seeing me. I was also afraid of what I would see when I did go inside. I smacked my forehead. Vincent Antonio Palmeriti II isn't afraid of anyone.

I sighed again and got out of the car. I turned the knob slowly, receiving a long creak from the door. The house was dark, with the exception of a light at the end of the hall. I heard footsteps upstairs; I figured it was Jayden. I tiptoed to the room at the end of the hallway. It was smoky, which made it hard to breathe. There was a woman sitting at the table, a joint in between her fingers. I ran to her and snatched it away. I tossed the drugs to the ground, stamping it out with my foot.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" I yelled at her.

"Who the fuck are you?" she yelled back, not looking at me. That voice - it was her. Her hair -which used to be bright and flowing - was tangled and a dark auburn color.

"Look at you Vick. What happened to you," I said in a whimpering tone. She turned to me. Her eyes - which used to be light and full of happiness - were dark and full of pain.

"Only one person called me that-" she froze when her gaze met mine. She stood from the table and looked deep into my eyes. She looked so weak. She touched my face gently, then my neck, then my arms. "It can't be," she whispered.

"Nice to see you too Victoria," I said, finally smiling. She smiled back and pulled me into a hug. I hugged her as tightly as possibly without breaking her body in half. She felt so fragile. We stood that way for a few more minutes. "My don't you look just handsome. You sure have bulked up huh? And look at that beard!" she replied, running her hands down my facial hair. I just laughed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with this stuff?" I pointed to the ground were the drugs were burning out.

"I need a release Antonio," she replied, sitting back down. I took a seat across from her.

"Not that stuff Vicky. It's dangerous and it's stupid," I responded, my anger flaring.

"I know that okay. Enough about that, what are you doing here? Damn it's been years big brother," she replied, smiling a little.

"I know. Saw you on TV a couple years back. You've been making one hell of a name for yourself you know," I didn't intend on my comment to be that harsh, but she needed to hear it.

"I'm not proud of it. I'm not proud of much I've done," she lit up a cigarette.

"You should be proud of Jayden. She's a beautiful young girl," I complimented.

"She is, isn't she is? She's a great kid," Vicky agreed, taking a drag from her cigarette.

"Vick, what happened after I left? What happened to you?" I asked. She sighed and put out her smoke.

"Well about a year after you left, Grandpa died. He was really sick. The state found my biological father and granted him custody of me. Everything was okay there I guess. He was a sweet man. I met this guy when I was eighteen. I thought we were in love but apparently he was just in it for sex," by now, she lit up another cigarette, "well, I ended up pregnant. He bailed out of course. I was eighteen and decided to move out. I wanted to find you Vince, I really did. But I knew you had your own life by then and I didn't want to mess that up," she finished, her voice cracking. She never really was one for tears, so I wasn't expecting her to cry.

"Vicky, you should've known you could come to me for anything."

"Yeah, well it wasn't that easy Vince. Anyways, I couldn't get a job anywhere around here. I met this other guy, who just happened to be a pimp. He put me out on the streets and I started making money. It was good money, dirty, but good. It helped feed my child. He also introduced me to the wonderful world of heroine," she said sarcastically, taking another drag from her smoke.

"That's how you got sick?" she nodded.

"Yeah, for about three years now. By then, I was fed up with life. I didn't care about anything anymore. I was done tricking, but I was still addicted to the drugs. I went to the doctor because I couldn't take being sick all the time. They tested me and confirmed that I had contracted AIDS from the needles. The gave me some meds to take for the sickness, but I stopped taking them about a week after. I went to the doctor about a month ago. He told me I didn't have too much longer. The disease would start taking over my body," I looked away. I couldn't believe it took this long to be reunited with my sister, all to find out she was dying. I turned back to her.

"Does it hurt? Are you in pain?"

"Antonio, I've been in pain all my life. I was just good at hiding it. But at the moment, no. I'm not in much pain," she replied. I nodded. "What happened?" she nodded towards my right arm. The scar from the wire was still greatly visible. She traced her fingers down the scar.

"Like you, I've done some things I'm not too proud of. Me and my Team used to hijack trucks," I didn't want to go through all the details.

"Wait, that was you?! Damn, I heard about that from some buddies of mine. A friend of mine was actually involved in one. He drove a truck that said Rodgers, had lots of DVDs and shit inside. Wow, what a small world," she finished. I ran my hands down my face.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But anyways, we were doing the last hijacking and I got caught on the truck. Wire wrapped me up. The driver shot me in the side. Barely survived the shit," I relived the day in my head.

"Well I'm glad you did," as if on cue, Jayden entered the kitchen.

"Hey, I'll be in the car," she said, "hey mom," she glanced at Victoria and smiled. Vicky returned the smile.

"Well I guess this is it. Thanks for coming to see me Vince. It's really good to see you again," Victoria said, standing from the table. I pulled her into a hug once more.

"Why you talking like we ain't gonna see each other again? I'll be by again to check on ya. I love you Vicky," I said, pulling back.

"I love you too Antonio. Be good and take care of her please. Tell your wife I said hello. Don't mess that up Vince, she's a good woman," she smiled and kissed my cheek. I winced at her words and nodded as I exited the kitchen.

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A little reunion for you guys. Read&review please.

-Kita