A/N: This chapter got kinda long, my bad. I'm hoping to get one more out to you guys before the week is up, but no promises. Reviews are encouraging though...just saying *cough, cough*

"Dominic there have been rumors that Ortiz is thinking of retirement. Is this true?" One reporter asked Dom at the Xfinity Series press conference.

"We've always said we'd keep competing until all the kids were grown. We got a little surprise a few years ago, so we're probably gonna continue racing for a little while longer even if that may mean less frequently."

"So you both will be competing in this next circuit?"

"No we're going to alternate so that our schedules don't collide. We always have to make sure there's time for family."

"Speaking of family, Ortiz has been absent from the public eye for a few months. There have been reports of some erratic behavior, such as walking out of her Bugatti Veyron in the mist of heavy traffic and having it towed."

"Is there a question coming along any time soon?" Dom asked aggressively.

"Some of the blogs are suggesting that she is going through a deep depression. Do you have any comments on this?"

"We've always been private so her absence should not seem so unusual."

"But it seems that her disappearance coincides with the loss of her mother. Would that have anything to do with it?"

"That is none of your business. Her mother died and she's dealing with it. That's all I'm going to say on the matter." Dom snapped. "You're questions are prying and disrespectful. I suggest that you hold anymore questions about my wife seeing as she is not here to answer them on her own."

"We'll take two more questions." His manager, Charlie, intervened. Dom and Letty were notorious for walking out on interviews, and he wanted to assure that they did not lose money due to the infamous Toretto temper. After several moments of awkward shuffling amongst reporters, a female journalist cleared her throat and proceeded to ask her question.

"Unfortunately, there still are not many women in the sport."

"Agreed"

"Your daughter's coming up on the stockcar circuit, and considering you already have a son in the NFL, one wonders if we will have another sports prodigy on our hands?"

"We sure do, but she's not going pro until she finishes school." He answered enthusiastically. There was no prouder papa than Dominic Toretto.

"What are the chances she'd get to race with you?"

"I'd love to see my baby on the track with me. It doesn't mean I'll let her win though."

"Last question", Charlie warned the crowd of reporters.

"Considering your stats do you feel cheated out of being inducted into the hall of fame?"

"I'm not really sure how it works. If they ever think me worthy, I'd accept the honor. However, I haven't heard from them, and I'm not losing sleep over it."

"That's it for questions. Thank you." His manger said cutting everyone off, while Dom stood to leave. His sons were waiting for him behind stage.

"How come you never called me a prodigy?" Jensen asked. "I got a perfect score on my SATs."

"I still don't believe you didn't cheat."

"Ouch, that hurts."

"Does it really?" Alexus mocked. "It wouldn't be beneath you."

"Is it so hard to believe I'm simply a genius?"

"Get a better track record." Dom shrugged at his son. They made their way back to LA shortly after, leaving Alexus behind for his third flight to midseason practice. Nevertheless when he arrived, Dom was surprised to find that the house did not feel as solemn as when he had left it. His only daughter ran to greet him as soon as she heard his car pull up, a habit she had not outgrown since she was old enough to walk.

"There's my baby girl!"

"So I'm a prodigy, huh?" Mazda asked with a massive hug.

"Wow, news travels fast."

"The internet Papi. You know I watch all your interviews."

"Oh of course, how can I forget?"

"Did you miss me?"

"Absolutely, you know I can't live without you."

"I may actually barf." Jensen said as he walked passed them.

"You know she's playing you right? I don't know how none of you haven't figured this out yet. It's been sixteen years. Next she'll ask for car."

"I already have one, nimrod." Mazda pointed out.

"You wanna name call now?"

"You started it."

"Why can't you two just say 'hello, it's nice to see you', or maybe even 'I miss you.'" The siblings looked at each other with beady eyes.

"Nah" Mazda answered.

"That would just feel wrong." Jensen said flicking his sister.

"Ow! Stop it!"

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"Oh I got something for you." Mazda said pulling out a small BB-gun from her back pocket.

"The hell? Why do you have that?" Jensen attempting to grab it from her, but she ducked swiftly out of the way.

"It's been waiting for you for three days."

"That's not normal. Father your daughter has become violent."

"It's not that violent." The oldest Toretto dismissed.

"You come for me again and this is going straight up your ass." The teenager threatened.

"'Ey language!" Dom intervened.

"I'm sorry Papi. This is going straight up your butt." Mazda corrected.

"That's much better."

"Are you serious? Favoritism is so real!"

"Jensen I saw you provoke her. You'll get what's coming to you if you keep acting up because you need to start acting your age." Jensen rolled his eyes and headed upstairs to drop off his things. "Where's your mother?"

"I think she's painting outside. She said she likes the natural light."

"Painting? I don't think I've seen your mom paint in over ten years."

"It was Tía's idea. It seems to put her in a better mood. We talked a little bit today, but not much." Mazda informed him shyly. "I think she's getting better."

"We just have to be patient. She'll get there." Dom told his daughter. He stepped outside in search of Letty. They had several acres of land so it took him a few minutes to find her. She was covered in black paint, and it seemed she was using her hands to get the shading just how she wanted it.

"Hey good looking", he attempted to greet her cheerfully, but Letty yelped in surprise. She had been so in tune with her artwork that she hadn't sensed his presence.

"You scared me." She said calming herself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He attempted to step towards her, but she backed away. "Hey"

"Hey" she greeted back. "How was your trip?"

"It was good. We got another trophy."

"God knows we need more of those." She said sarcastically causing him to chuckle lightly.

"You look good Let." He said glancing at her.

"I'm a mess. I got paint everywhere." She dismissed and began gathering her things.

"What's this?" Dom asked pointing to her painting.

"Oh that? That's nothing."

"You don't need to stop on my account. It doesn't look like you're done."

"Tomorrow's another day." Letty told him as she attempted to cover it up, but he stopped her.

"I almost forgot how talented you are." He said analyzing portrait. "Maybe we should have you design the decals for the new rides again."

"No one has time for that. We got too busy remember?"

"Yeah, but maybe now since we only have one little kid, you could do it." He suggested.

"Yeah maybe", she responded with an attempt at a smile.

"There's something different about you today." Dom smiled at her. "There's a spark in your eye." He said grabbing her face suddenly. She had no idea why but as soon as he touched her, Letty felt nervous and self-conscious.

"Really? It must be because they're not red." She said looking away. Letty knew she should not feel how she did. The man was her husband after all. He had seen her through it all. Despite all that she felt vulnerable, so vulnerable that it made her uncomfortable.

"No, it's not that." He said tilting her head slightly so that he look into her eyes. "You're blushing?" Dom asked curiously.

"I don't think so. I'm just warm."

"It's seventy-five degrees, and there's a breeze." He asserted.

"You know I'm more warm blooded than most."

"I'm sure that's what it is." He said right before kissing her softly. Letty's body jerked in response, and she quickly moved out of his grasp. "What's wrong?" Dom asked confused. He was so hopeful that today would be the day he would get his wife back. He could have sworn Letty had shown a glimpse of her just moments before.

"Nothing's wrong", she said turning away from him.

"Something is clearly wrong. My wife hasn't kissed me for two months. It seems that I repel her." He said as he attempted to turn her around to face him, but she resisted.

"That's not it." She said shaking her head at him.

"Then what is it?" He yelled at her without meaning to. "Letty, what is it!" He felt desperate and at his wits end.

"I don't want to fight." She said putting her hand up and halting him.

"And I do?"

"You're yelling."

"I'm frustrated." He said massaging his temple and rubbing his eyes.

"Why don't you go inside and take a shower? You've had a long trip."

"So we're just not going to talk about anything?"

"How was the press conference?" She said changing the topic.

"I'm not doing this with you. I'm not. We are not those people who pretend things are okay when they're clearly far from it." He said before walking away from her.

"Dom wait…" Letty hesitated as he continued to distance himself.

"What!" He yelled back exasperated a few yards away. She took a deep breath, but could not get out the words she wanted to say. Letty wanted to tell him what she was thinking. She wanted to tell him she was embarrassed and that she wanted to be his again, but something inside just would not let her.

"I'm sorry." She told him softly.

"You and me both", Dom responded bitterly before continuing to make his way back in the house.

He kept his distance from Letty for the rest of the day. She felt so isolated as if she was looking on to her family, but was no longer a part of it. That night Letty lay restless in her bed, which was not uncommon for her in the last few weeks. The mattress felt cold and empty as she tossed and turned. She got up and found herself walking down the hall to the guest room Dom had been staying in. "What am I doing?" She whispered to herself. Nonetheless, she cracked the door open gently, but to her surprise the room was empty. She searched Axel's room, Mazda's room, and Jensen's room. She even went to the garage in search for him, but he was not there. Not knowing where he was suddenly filled her with great anxiety. She attempted to call, but she soon discovered he had left his phone behind. "Where the fuck is he?" She asked herself quietly as she paced all over the house. She did not know what to do with herself. Letty did the laundry, cleaned, ordered, and then re-ordered things. She even broke out and played Call of Duty Black Ops to try to distract herself. The sun rose and Dom still did not come home. She would stare at the phone hoping that it would ring, or wondering if she should call the police. "He's probably fine." She told herself shaking her head and trying to rid her mind of the worry.

At 5:30AM, when Letty finally heard tires moving over the pavement down the driveway, she ran at out the door to see if it was him. The red 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona she had bought long ago parked just in front of the large garage that housed over thirty vehicles. Her husband ungracefully stumbled out of the driver's seat. "Where have you been?" She screamed at him.

"Out..." He responded evenly walking passed her. It angered Letty that Dom seemed to be completely ignoring the fact that his sudden all night outing was inappropriate.

"Out? Out, where? All night? Doing what?"'

"Like you really give a shit?"

"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you." She said grabbing his arm and swinging him around.

"I needed to go for a ride." He shrugged though there was a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Don't ever scare me like that again! You could have been killed!"

"I think I can handle myself pretty well. I'm surprised you noticed." He told her clearly peeved.

"How could I not notice that my husband has gone completely missing?" She asked incredulously.

"Because you haven't before", he told her raising his tone. "And trust me baby this isn't the first time."

"So what you just don't come home some nights? Are you crazy?"

"No I need to get away from the crazy."

"Where were you?"

"I already told you I was out."

"Oh my god…" Letty said as her stomach churned at the worse possible thought. "Oh my god…" She gasped in disbelief and covered her face. "Who is she?"

"What!?"

"Who ever you're seeing, who is she?"

"Don't be ridiculous." Dom said dismissing her allegations.

"It's the only thing that makes sense! You're not even denying it!" Letty said as she started to hyperventilate.

"Letty calm down."

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" She snapped. "You think I'm crazy? I'll fucking show you crazy! Who is she!" She screamed tugging at his shirt.

"What would you do if I gave you a name?" Dom inquired coldly.

"I have the right to know!"

"Could you blame me?"

"Are you trying to throw this in my face? I know I've been awful, but I don't deserve this."

"How would you feel if you were me right now?" He asked bringing his face at level with hers. Letty saw pain in his eyes.

"Tell me the sluts name!" She screamed smacking him across the face harder than she had ever smacked anyone her entire life.

"Vince" Dom told her while running his finger over a small trace of blood on the corner of his lip. He glanced at her briefly, surprisingly very calm. "Call Mercedes. She'll tell you I spent the night on their couch."

"Are you serious?" Letty asked mid-sob. "Why would you let me think that you cheated?"

"It's nice to know you still care." He answered stoically. "I'm going to go shower." Dom left her there, still shaking with anger and jealousy. Every breath she attempted to take was followed by a stream of tears. They were tears relief, but she had gotten so worked she could not stop them. She managed to make it to the bathroom silently to wash her face. Moments later, there was a small knock on the door.

"What? You want to torture me some more?" She called out while staring into the mirror.

"Mami?" Letty's heart froze with fear.

"Shit…" She whispered to herself. "What do you need Maz?"

"Can I talk to you?"

"Now's not a good time. Why don't you go back to bed?" She responded shakily.

"I have to get ready for school." The young girl said through the door.

"Then do that then. You can use your own bathroom." Letty said without letting her daughter in. Mazda stood behind the door a few seconds longer, hoping that her mother would emerge, but she did not. The young girl could still hear her father in the guest room shower, and decided to migrate to her brother's room on the third floor.

"Jensen", she whispered. He mumbled something, but she persisted. "Jensen…Jensen…Jensen"

"What do you want?" He asked covering his head with a pillow.

"I think they're going to break up." She told him rattled.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Mami and Papi, I think they're going to break up."

"Don't be ridiculous." He said dismissing her groggily.

"No, I mean it." She said tugging at his arm. "Listen to me. I just heard them fighting. She was screaming at him, and he was screaming at her. Then she smacked him, and then he left her crying there. I saw it all from my window."
"What? What were they fighting about?"

"I couldn't hear, but it looked bad Jensen. They don't sleep in the same room anymore, and now they're fighting. What are we going to do? I can't do the fifty/fifty thing. I don't even think Mami would want us if they ever had to decide." The young girl said as her eyes began to sting and water.

"Hey now, don't do that." He said wiping her tears.
"I don't want them to break up." She cried.

"They're not going to break up." The young man said caressing his sister's face.

"Yes they are. You didn't see it."

"They fight all the time."

"Not like that they don't; she smacked him and everything."

"It's gonna be okay. They're going to work it out. I'll talk to Pa later once he's cooled off."

"We need to do something." She urged him. "We can't let them split up."

"I'll talk to Lex. Maybe we can come up with some sort of plan."

"He's in season. He's so busy."
"He'll make time for this. He always makes time for us." Jensen assured with a light hug. She rest her head on her brother's shoulder. "Everything's gonna be just fine."

"Okay", Mazda sniffled.

"Don't you have school to get ready for or something?"

"Yeah"
"Alright then go do that and stop blubbering all over me. It's gross." He said pushing her away.

"Shut-up." She said smacking his arm. He grabbed his sister swiftly and put her in a headlock. "Jensen stop!"

"Say uncle", the young man taunted.

"Jensen", He began to tickle her causing her to giggle. "Jensen! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Say uncle"

"Uncle, uncle", the young giggled out. "God! You're so dumb." She said fixing her hair.

"That's what you get for waking me up." He told her with a smirk. She stuck her tongue out at him and left to prep for her morning.

Once Letty sensed everyone leave house, she crept out of her room with her portrait in tow. She brought it down it down to her car and drove it all the way to Zen Art in hopes to find a space for clarity. "Letty!" The young British instructor greeted her. "What a pleasure to see you so soon!"

"You remember my name?"

"Of course I do. You're work was exceptional, but what is a name really? They're just labels placed on us by our parents. I've changed mine to suit me."

"Really?"

"Yes, is Letty your birth name?"

"No, It's a nickname. I hate my birth name."

"I did too. You see, we all transform ourselves into what we want to be. We're only unhappy when we inhibit that."

"Okay…" Letty said unsure how to respond. "What was your birth name?" She asked curiously.

"Owen, which meant young warrior, but I wanted a name to reflect on who I was becoming, on my journey."

"That sounds like a lot of bologna if you ask me."

"Wouldn't you call your life a journey?"

"Not really…"

"You can call it what you want. The principle is the same."

"I think I'll call it life."

"Are you satisfied with you in this life?"

"I guess I was who I wanted to be, and then I changed into the opposite of it. I'm scared I may be too late to change back."

"It is never too late. You need to embrace what you were, what you want to become, and the change that is necessary. The latter is the hardest part." Letty looked at him pensively.

"I can't tell if you're full of shit." Letty said to him causing him to smile.

"I'll assure you that I'm not. Did you bring the masterpiece with you?"

"Yes, but it's not finished. I was hoping to take you up on your offer and work on it here." She told him reluctantly.

"Of course, the studio is open. I don't believe anyone's in there at the moment." He said gesturing down the corridor that she had gone down a day before.

"Thanks, is there a time limit?"

"Nope, I'll be having another session in there, but you can feel free to continue working on it as long as you're comfortable."

"Alright, I'll let you know."

"Excellent."