Sorry for the wait. I had to have another root canal on Tuesday and the pain pills made me really groggy. But thanks for all the reviews!! I'm very grateful for them. And yes, I'm dyslexic but it doesn't affect me much when I'm writing, only when I'm reading. But still it affects me. But I'm trying to get these up as quick as possible. Also, I have been thinking about a sequel after this one. It only depends on if you guys want it! Well here's 42...

Chapter 42-Dresses and Adrenaline Shaving

Two weeks later.

Sasha's POV

This month has been ridiculous. An absolute mess. Things got worse last week. It was Wednesday to be exact. We took our daily visit up to Letty and my mom at the hospital. While Dom had visited Letty, she went into shock and slipped into a coma. The doctor's say she was reacting negatively to the IV, which caused her body to go into shock. She flatlined several times before being revived on the last try. Now the doc's say she's in a coma and she has a 20 chance of coming out of it. This news sent Dominic into a tantrum, causing him to be escorted from the hospital that day. Ever since that day, Dom's been a different person. He barely speaks to anyone; he stays up in his room, grieving. Sometimes on my late-night bathroom trips, I could hear him weeping softly. It's hard to see such a strong person being torn down so bad.

Dom wasn't the only person affected by this information. The whole team was falling apart. Vince never shows up at the house anymore, only at the hospital to see Let. On occasion's he visits Maria, but by then, he's already teary-eyed and weak. I really missed him. We haven't had much time together since the accident. Mia distanced herself from everyone. She stays at the garage at all times a day, working on paperwork. When she heard Letty was in a coma, she didn't cry. Her face didn't show emotion. She only sighed and left the hospital. Brian tries hard to get through to her; to get her to let the tears out. But it's never any good. She always yells at him and tells him she doesn't want to cry. Leon and Bianca are here everyday, trying to help the family. Leon says the prayer every night for dinner, praying for the same thing: "For mija to get better and come home to her family". Jesse has barely been home since receiving the news. After he leaves the hospital, he drives off somewhere always to "take care of somethings." Diana's really worried about him.

This tragedy was killing me and Tony. Not only about Letty, but about Maria too. She was slowly dieing and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I was gonna lose my mom. For the past few months I tried to put her illness in the back of my mind; not wanting to think about life without my mother. But Jesse and Leon helped me understand. They lost their mother too, so we're in similar situations. I just wish that my mom could live forever. She deserves it more then anyone else I know. Now Tony has to grow up the rest of his life without his mother.Now that he moved into the Fort and into my bedroom, we rock each other to sleep everynight. When he used to have nightmares as a child, he'd always climb into bed with me and I'd rock him to sleep. Now it's the same situation everynight. Things were just rocky in the Toretto home, but hopefully they'd get better.

I was thankful that nobody remembered my birthday was today. I didn't want to make the day even more stressful. It kinda saddened me though that nobody remembered. But I knew the Team had more important things to worry about.

It was 2:45 p.m. and me and Vince were the only people at home. The others were at the garage, not wanting to stay in and mope around like Dominic. I didn't feel like being in that type of atmosphere right now. I called Vince to come over and keep me company, but there wasn't much talking. We were silently watching telveision in the den.

"Sasha will go look in your room and see if you see my phone charger please?" Vince asked, waking me from my thoughts.

"Why can't you do it?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrow at him. He paused for a minute, obviously trying to think of an excuse.

"Umm. Cause I lost it." Was the best that he could come up with. Smooth Vince, real smooth. I gave him a questioning look then nodded. I jogged up the stairs to my room when he called to me.

"What?" I yelled from the top of the stairs.

"I'll be back in a lil bit ok. I have to run to my apartment to get something." He said, before dodging out the house. He was acting really weird. What the fuck is his deal?

I continued back for my room. When I entered, I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. There was a dark red satin dress lying on my bed. At the foot of the bed, there were black heels with diamonds on them. Surrounding the dress, jewelry layed out all over my bed. There was a diamond necklace with matching earrings. I walked over to the outfit and picked it up with such carefulness as if I was holding a newborn. I observed the jewelry, putting it to my body to see how it looks. Absolutely beautiful. I ran out of the room to the hallway telephone, quickly punching in Vince's cell number.

"What the hell is this Vincent Antonio Palmeriti?!" I shrieked, still in disbelief.

"Just put it on ok. I'll be over there in an hour. I called Mia already to tell her to help you."

"Oh hell no Vincent. Mia's gonna make me her Latina Barbie!"

"Stop calling me Vincent. Just get ready please." I could tell he was laughing that gracious laugh I loved so much.

I grunted and gave in. "Fine. But it better be worth it."

"Oh it will be. I hope. I gotta go though. I'll see ya in a few." I gave him an 'uh-huh' and we hung up.

xxx

Vince's POV

I pulled up to my apartment complex, which was called Broadway of Heaven, just as I was getting off the phone with Sasha. I knew how much she hated dresses, but it would fit the occasion. I smiled as I thought of the look on Sasha's face after our conversation. I knew right about know she was scrunching up her nose and that little vein in her forehead was pounding on the surface.

I raced straight to my bedroom and grabbed underwear from my dresser drawer. I emptied my pockets of everything they held and walked to the bathroom. Shutting the door, I took a glance in the mirror above the sink. Geez, Vince you gotta handle that.

I stripped down to my birthday suit and turned the hot and cold knobs of the bath. I stepped into the shower, the rush of warm water covering my feet. I pulled the shower spray and bent my head under the fast flowing water.

Sasha's POV

After I finished dressing from my previous shower, I jogged down the stairs reluctantly, hearing the front door open and shut. Mia's home.

"Look Mi-" I began.

"No talking, we don't have much time. Get going!" She interrupted, shoving me back up the stairs. I grunted and jogged back up the stairs with Mia hot on my heels. With one look at my bed, Mia was nearly in tears. She picked the dress up, examining it carefully. After approving the outfit, she grabbed me by the hand and led me in her room. I sat at the chair in front of Mia's 'makeup parlor' and let her begin doing her thing.

After about ten minutes on easy makeup, Mia started on my hair.

"Now how do you want this?" She asked me, taking my hair down from the messy bun it was in.

"Do your thing Mi. Just don't make me look like a troll." I joked, shifting in the seat. Mia let out an exasperated sigh and began to comb my hair. It got silent for a while before Mia stopped abruptely. "What's s'wrong?" I asked, turning in my seat. She put up one finger, telling me to wait. She walked over to her closet momentarily, then came back with a small box. She sat it on the table, going back to working on my hair. I looked from her to the box, confusion glowing on my face.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the box.

"Open it." was all she said. I picked the box up, opening it slowly. Peeking inside, I noticed a pearl bracelet that'd match perfect with the necklace Vince got me.

"Happy Birthday." she said, noticing the surprised look on my face. "I bet you thought I forgot." I nodded and hugged her tightly.

Vince's POV

I stepped out of the now cold shower, wrapping a towel around my lower torso. I looked in the mirror once more, my beard looking gravely worse. I decided it was time to do something about it, once and for all. Opening my medicine cabinet, I picked up my razor from the top shelf. Spreading shaving cream over my cheeks, under my chin, and above my top lip, I could feel the adrenaline pumping. Wow, I thought I only got these from racing. But considering I haven't so much as looked at my razor in a couple months, I could see why I was nervous. I shook off that feeling and raised the razor to my face. Connecting it blades to my beard, I slowly pulled down, watching clear skin become visible in the mirror. Whew, that wasn't so bad. I continued with the same procedure: inhale - stroke - exhale.

After shaving off my infamous beard, I began to worry. What if she doesn't like it? Will she not wanna be with me anymore? I couldn't shake these thoughrs. I walked back into my room and put on my underwear. Tossing the wet towel in the laundry basket by my closet, I pulled out my suit from the closet. I fragiley placed it on my bed while I searched for my wallet.

Sasha's POV

Thirty minutes later...

I was taking one final glance at myself in the bathroom long mirror. Although it wouldn't be my everday choice of clothing, I had to admit, I did look good. The dress fit me perfect, my curves shaping out nicely. The way the diamonds sparkled made my body seem to glow a bronze tint. The heels weren't my favorite, but they did look good with the dress. My makeup was light; having little mascara and lipgloss that made my lips shine a sparkling pink color. Mia did an excellent job. Especially on my hair. She braided it halfway to the back, putting small clips where the braids ended. She curled the braids at the end slightly. I persisted to study myself in the mirror before hearing the front door open and shut.

"Sasha, hurry up. The limo will be here any minute." I heard Vince yelling from the bottom of the stairs. A limousine? What is up with him today...

I walked to the top of the stairs, taking one final deep breath. Keep in mind this wasn't my everday casual wear; people didn't see me like this often. Last time I wore a dress was to my Senior Prom, which Vince accompanied me too. But then again, he didn't look like a caveman then. I pulled up one side of my dress, making sure I didn't trip as I started down the stairs. The momentum was buiilding as I was soon to become visible from the stairs. When I reached the middle of the steps, there was the man of my dreams; standing at the bottom of the stairs. He had on a grey suit with a dark red undershirt that matched my dress. He held one rose in his hand. He looked different. Something wasn't normal with him although I couldn't quite figure it out.

As he inspected me from top to bottom, the expression on his face was priceless. That's what it is, his face. He shaved his beard!

The closer I got to him, the more his aroma cascaded through the room. The wonderful scent of cologne and a stinch of oil made my body shiver. He looked amazing and smelt even better.

"Wow. You look ..." he started. I looked at my feet, my shyness coming into play. Maybe I didn't look as good as I thought. I felt his fingers on my chin, lifting my face up to his. "Absolutely gorgeous." He finished, kissing me lightly.

"Thank you. You look good too Mr. Palmeriti." I smiled, stepping back to check him out. He really did look good.

"Not as good as you. But I could give you a run for your money." He said sarcastically, checking himself out.

We continued with the pleasantries when the kitchen door opened into the living room .. Mia.

A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she ran past us up the stairs. Seconds later, she came back down with her digital camera. I should've known.

"Get together. I'm gonna show this to Letty. She would love to see it." She said placing the camera to her eye. I stepped over as Vince wrapped his arms around me from behind, his head making it's way to the crook of my neck. That smell was going to cause me to faint. Mia snapped the picture, running over to us. "Vince I can't believe you shaved. You look human now." She teased, hugging him tightly. "You look great V." She complimented. "Oh my gosh Sasha you look absolutely beautiful chica. You're my masterpiece." She said proudly. I nudged her with my shoulder as she hugged around my neck, rather tight. Her giddiness made me laugh. "I wish the team could see this." She continued, looking at us both.

"Oh they will. After this little surprise, we're gonna all meet up at the hospital." Vince confirmed.

We continued with small talk as a horn was heard from outside.

"Have fun guys." Mia said, giving us one last hug. When my turn, she whispered. "Don't hurt him Sasha."

I returned the whisper. "Not gonna happen."

Opening the door for me, I was surrpised with Vince slipped his hand in mine, his fingers fitting perfectly between mine. I blushed a little as the limo driver opened the door for us. Vince thanked him and slipped in the back with me.

xxx

Vince's POV

Sitting in the back of the limo, I couldn't help but stare at Sasha. She was sooo beautiful. I thought Mia was the most gorgeous girl, but now I know. I was truly falling in love with Sasha. She was such an amazing, down to earth girl. She helped me get over Mia and let go of something that wasn't meant to be. Even though she was as rough around the edges as I, she wvs still very much a lady.

"V stop drooling on the seats. Where are we going anyways?" She snapped me from my daze, snuggling her body against mine.

"It's a surprise, remember?" I teased, wrapping my arms protectively around her body.

We drove for about twenty minutes before finally making it to our destination. The driver pulled up to what looked like an abandoned building that was near the coast.

"V, where we at?" She asked, as I helped her from the limo.

"No questions. You'll see everything when it comes to. Now, we're gonna be late." I said, leading her by the hand into the dark building.

When we got to the door, I knocked twice. Bruce, a tall, built Italian bouncer, opened the door. He shook my hand as he greeted me and Sasha. When we made it to the main hall, Sasha's mouth fell open as I heard her gasp in awe.

"Oh my God Vincent."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ooooo where are they at?? What's up Vince's sleeve? Read to find out. I'll update as soon as tomorrow night.

Please read&review )

:) Kita