Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and the Furious, it's characters, or situations. I am making no money from this work of fiction.

Chapter 3: Chrysalis

Daphne's pregnant. Han's actually excited that he's procreating (see picture). I was stunned. I couldn't believe I was reading this. Quickly I shuffled through the latest set of pictures Mia sent me to find one of Daphne, her belly distended, Letty looking horrified next to her. Letty's hand was on Daphne's stomach. I could only guess that the baby must have kicked and freaked her out. What the hell was going on at home? I made the decision in an instant to call them. Mia and I had written back and forth several times since my first letter last March. How could a year change everything so fast? Looking at the picture, Daphne looked really pregnant. Why didn't Mia tell me in her last letter in November?

My mind started racing, questions popping up at every turn. I felt the slow burn of anger well inside of me even though I knew my face would outwardly show nothing but collected calm. They were keeping things from me. Finally I felt my eyes narrow as I read the passage once again. I couldn't even finish the letter without sorting this out first. Why would they need to keep things from me, especially something as life altering as a kid?

Later that evening I decided to take my turn at the phones. I gave my name then waited impatiently as the mechanical voice requested my recipient receive the phone charges. I was hoping to hear Mia's voice first but I wasn't sad that I got Vince instead.

"Yo man, you had time to read Mia's novel?" he asked, his tone teasing and light.

"Hell no. Daphne's knocked up?" I sounded incredulous. I had meant to sound calm and collected but my tightly wound nerves messed it up. Vince started laughing uncontrollably. He was still laughing as he passed the phone to Mia.

"Hi Dom! How are…" Mia began, interest lacing her voice but I cut her off.

"Why didn't you tell me in November about the baby?" I accused. I didn't want to come out sounding childish by asking why they kept it a secret for so long.

"What do you mean?" I could hear her brain working overtime to figure out what I meant, "Oh that."

"Oh that, my ass!"

"Well I didn't do it…" I cut her off. I knew she didn't mean to omit information. This meant that she didn't know it before.

"Sorry Mia. I'm just in shock. I miss you," I told her, the edge seeping out of my voice.

"I miss you lots so write me soon."

"I love you Mia. Don't get pregnant," I warned, suddenly thinking about how she might be having sex too. Mia was eighteen now and, oh God, probably dating guys. I started to fume again.

"I love you too," she said in a long suffering kind of way.

"Later Mia."

"Bye," she told me, laughter creeping back into her voice. I could tell that she would be interested to see if I'd blow up at anyone else. She'd heard the edge sneak back into my voice. I heard the air rush past as she passed the phone on.

"Hiya Dom," Letty drawled. She sounded unaffected, like I called everyday. I frowned, hoping that her feelings hadn't changed for me.

"So, I feel like making babies with you when I get out," I started, working to sound as unaffected as she sounded. I wondered if the statement would catch her off guard.

"Yeah, is that right?" then she burst into laughter. I loved her laugh; it made me shiver and think of sex.

"But you can't jump like you did in that picture," I laughed back, remembering her comical expression. I wanted to flirt, not get frustrated.

"Whatever man that's not cool."

"What? It was an innocent observation."

"I'll bet," she said dryly. It made it grin.

"At the rate they're going," I told her, referring to Han and Daphne, "we'll have to play catch up when I get home."

"Uh huh," Letty replied noncommittally. I couldn't tell if that was a 'yes' or 'no'. It was probably more like a 'whatever man'. Letty was eighteen now too and the last thing on her mind was having babies.

"You don't think so?" I wondered when Letty had learned to flirt like this. She was usually either closed or open. She never kept me guessing like this before and it was kind of a turn-on.

"When you get home you better be ready to put your money where your mouth is," she demanded saucily.

"I plan to put my mouth a lot of places so you better be ready," I sassed back, unable to help myself. I must have embarrassed her.

"Bye Dom," she told me shyly, giving the phone away before I could even say goodbye in return. Finally I got a voice on the phone that could answer my questions. Thankfully for her, the anger and confusion that was simmering before I started this phone call had dissipated after my talks with Mia and Letty.

"Hi, how are…"

"Daphne, are you having Han's baby?" I cut her off quickly.

"What?" she asked stunned. I had caught her off guard.

"It is Han's baby right?" I rephrased grinning.

"Yes of course it is!" she exclaimed, but I could hear her smiling.

"Just checking. The baby bug is not contagious though."

"Yeah, thankfully it's not catching."

"I am going to tease the hell out of Han for years," I said gleefully. I was starting to find the whole situation highly entertaining.

"I bet you are," she said wryly.

"Have you come up with any names yet?"

"No, we haven't yet but I was thinking something asexual like Jessie or Taylor." This made me grin. I knew Han would have a differing opinion about those names.

"So could you keep me in the loop from now on?" I asked referring to their omission from my letter in November. I was pleased I didn't sound accusatory, just gruff.

"We'll definitely keep you posted."

"Ok then. Stay out of any more trouble."

"Yeah, you too, bye."

"Dom," Han said in his cavalier voice. I could strangle him cheerfully for his nonchalance.

"Han," I growled.

"Hurry up and get to the punch line, I want to laugh too," he demanded, his voice still light with laughter. That was Han, never getting too bent out of shape.

"Ah you got me, are you seriously having a kid man?" I knew I sounded surprised. Really I was humbled that something so adult would happen while I was away. I was starting to feel jealous that I was missing out on life.

"Either that or Daph swallowed a Hyundai," we both laughed. I could hear the faint contact of flesh against flesh, alerting me that she must have hit him.

"Why didn't that news make the last letter," I queried. Someone was going to give me a straight answer about that.

"I didn't even know till December so…" The pieces fell into place. No one had known before then. I felt the tension I hadn't realized I had drop from my shoulders. I don't know why I should feel so tense about something I had no control over. I didn't like the feeling of being ignored because I was here and they were all together. I didn't want them to forget about me.

"Yeah well congrats man. Listen, are you going to throw a party for Letty and Mia when they graduate?" I remembered the picture Mia had sent of Vince and Han at graduation, both of them cheesing for the camera in their caps and gowns. I also remembered the ten or so pictures of the graduation party that had spilled from the house into the back yard, complete with familiar faces from the race scene. I kept the picture of Letty dancing on the coffee table in my sock drawer, determined to use it as a bargaining chip for something I may need later in our relationship.

"That's the plan."

"Ok then. I'll need you to do me a favor but I'll tell you about it later. Can you put Vince back on?" I started to rush. The guard was giving the signal that we needed to start wrapping the conversations up.

"Yeah, later Dom."

"Yeah what you need brother?" Vince asked, poised to listen.

"Keep an extra eye on Mia and Letty for me. I don't want them to screw around and not graduate. And the baby is welcome at the house too. I'm coming home in six months but make sure that you keep me informed better in the future, got that?"

"Yeah I got it, bye Dom," he told me in his no-nonsense voice. He would continue to stand in for me while I was here. On that note, I disconnected the call then made my way back to my cell. My brain was swimming. In my obsession to find out why they were hiding things from me, I didn't ask about anything else: not the garage, not the races, not my car, not the charger…Well I wouldn't ask about the charger anyway. I didn't want to feel the hysterical panic in my chest when I thought about the reason I was here instead of at home. Instead I lay on my bunk, careful to remember the place where I stopped reading Mia's letter, vowing to pick it up to continue tomorrow when I wasn't so full of thoughts. I fell into a restless sleep.

Six Months Later

"It kind of makes you wonder what else you didn't know, ya know." Lucky babbled on, oblivious to the fact that I was only paying half attention to what he was saying. We were still on speaking terms, even though I forced him to confront his own attackers when he first arrived. He got beaten pretty badly but it earned him enough respect to be left alone. Plus I started to help him exercise so he could build his muscle mass, making his punches sting a bit more than they used to. We were in the gym again and I was leaving tomorrow. Seven. Eight. Nine. I guess I should really take time and appreciate the fact that this may be our last conversation. Ten. I placed the weight back on the metal arms before sitting up.

"I don't know," I said honestly. I didn't really remember what we were talking about to be honest. Lucky looked at me shrewdly.

"You're saying if you were in my shoes you would want your girlfriend to tell you the truth about how often she's cheated? You wouldn't want your friends to tell you they were sampling the goods?" Oh yeah. The conversation flooded back to me. Lucky found out last night that his girlfriend was sleeping with his boss, the bosses' son, and a few other random characters. I remembered some line about "honor amongst thieves" being thrown out earlier in his tirade. I felt bad for Lucky considering he'd continued to pay the rent on his well furnished apartment for her and foot her hefty credit card bills, all while still in jail. I didn't have an answer for him. I couldn't picture myself in a situation like that. I didn't want to picture myself in a situation like that with Letty at all. I'd grown possessive of my family while I was here and I couldn't think of anything worse than being betrayed by them, especially now that we were so close to being reunited.

"It just goes to show you that you've got to watch who you trust," Lucky continued, apparently not needing my response to continue venting.

"Lucky, I'm going to miss you," I told him suddenly. The thought had come from out of the place in my heart that had an understanding of how I had changed by being here.

Two years had seen me chrysalis from boy to man. At twenty I was physically stronger than I had ever been. I had muscle on top of muscle. I'd shaved my head so I was bald. My voice was deeper, rougher, sounding as if I rarely used it. Not only was I physically different but the changes extended to my temperament. I got angry easier, but I was guarded when it came to my emotions. I was better at holding emotions in, keeping the anger and agony out of my features; however the eyes could subtly give me away. I was eager to take charge of my responsibilities, the obligations that I had left behind in a fit of recklessness. I now had an understanding of what recklessness could cost: freedom, family, control, guilt. I felt guilty all the time: for leaving Mia without her biological family, for forcing Vince to be in charge, for making Han believe he had to take care of us financially, for testing Letty's loyalty and love with my absence. I was ready to become the man my family needed me to be. And I was going to start tomorrow.

I received a piercing look from Lucky before he pulled out his business card and handed it to me. Only Lucky would keep something as normal as a business card in this place. I put it in my pocket. We didn't need to say more. I extended my hand and he shook it. Lucky was getting out of here in another year or so. He's the only person I would want to contact outside of this place. There would be no other sentiment of goodbye.

Releasing his hand I walked toward my bunk to clean up the last of my personal effects. I had to turn them in to the guard for inspection before I could take them with me. I had a small box filled with the letters Mia had written, the makeshift photo album I'd glued together to keep all of the photo's she'd taken, the bible Mia had sent to me in her attempt at religious reform. It was odd how she had filtered into this place that I had desperately wanted to keep her out of. I also had a garbage bag filled to the brim with socks, underwear, soap, and lotions. After I brushed my teeth in the morning I was going to throw the tooth brush and paste away too. I didn't want to keep anything from here. I'd written Mia and included instructions for Vince in July. Vince had sent new clothes to me to wear home: they were waiting for me to put on tomorrow before I met with the committee that would release me.

Completing the packing left me time to fantasize about the return home. I hadn't talked to anyone since my phone call in March. I hadn't received a letter from Mia either. I sighed. Mia probably thought she would need plenty to occupy my time. I imagined her squirreling away the pictures of her and Letty at graduation, of Han and the new baby, of what she had done to decorate for Easter and the Fourth of July. I wouldn't ruin her fun. I'd forgive her for holding on to six months worth of memories that we could review together.

But all of those memories would have to wait until I saw the garage. I planned to mark my return to the world with a trip to the place where I had left it. I needed to see for myself that DT was still standing, to stand on the space across the street where I had ruined a man's life, where I had crippled mine. Life would restart for me in that place then I would go home to face the rest of my family. I'd let Mia tell their stories, tuning me up so I could perform at their level. I would work on my car expecting it would need lots of tuning to get it back in racing order. I was definitely going to need to start racing again. My legs trembled in anticipation of shifting again, my arms tensed imaging the feel of the wheel and the shift knob. Yeah, I needed to get my car in racing order as soon as possible. I let my mind wander over the upgrades I might make. New lights? Better body kit? A fresh coat of paint? Lights for the chassis?

Thinking about what I would do to my car led me to thinking about the charger again. I knew it was waiting for me in the garage at the house. Dad's personal space. The space where he taught me, Vince, Letty and Han how to change the oil, fix a carburetor, replace fried piston rings. The sadness that accompanied thoughts about the charger or my father came rushing back, threatening to overwhelm me. I wished I had the strength to walk in that place and not break down. Would I ever have the courage to recreate the beast that had been the place my father had spent his final moments? Did I want to put together an object that scared me more than being in prison did?

Forcing myself to abandon all the what-ifs I finally let sleep overcome me, my brain repeating that I would be going home tomorrow, vowing that I would rather die than to return to prison ever again.