AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thx so much for the reviews/favs/follows! There wasn't much going on the first part bc I like to take things slow but I promise the story will unfold over time. This is basically my therapy getting over Paul Walker's death, had a hard time accepting the fact that he's gone :'( I'm just gonna put usual disclaimer stuff here: I don't own any of Fast & Furious characters except for my OCs. Enjoy!

It was a bright Saturday morning in the Toretto household. Mia was preparing breakfast for the family while Jack played with his toy cars in the living room. Dom, however, started his morning with a trip to the garage.

"Morning, Dom." Letty approached him who was busy fixing his ride, "why so early?"

"I can't sleep, Letty." Dom replied. "Han's death is still haunting me."

"Dom," Letty tapped his shoulders lightly. He turned himself facing her and they embraced each other. "I know how you feel. We all feel the same."

Dom hugged Letty even tighter, "It's hurting me bad. I don't want to lose my family members anymore."

Letty rubbed his back, comforting him. "You won't. I'll be by your side; we'll get through it together."

Dom slowly let go of her embrace and hold her hands, "Promise me, Letty."

Letty left out a smile and kissed him, "I promise."

Dom smiled back at him before he followed her back inside the house.

"Hey Dom, you know where Brian is? Can't seem to reach him by phone," Mia asked.

"He went out for a bit, I guess trying to find some fresh air."

Mia sighed, "Great, I made his favorite pancakes and he's out."

"If he didn't come back 'til noon then those are mine," Dom smirked.

"Come on Dom, spare him will you?" Mia nudged his brother playfully.

"Alright I'll go play with Jack but as soon as I'm finished and he still ain't showing up, that plate's mine," Dom grinned, "Hey Jack, wanna play?"

Brian pulled his car in front of Carla's apartment block. Stasiak had told him she lived in one of these apartments downtown so he went there to check for himself. The building wasn't exactly shabby, but it wasn't posh either. Within minutes, he found her apartment and took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

A woman who looked like she's in her 60s opened the door and greeted him, "Hello, do I know you?"

"Hi, I'm looking for Carla Ventura?"

"I'm sorry, but she doesn't live here anymore," she answered." And who might you be, young man?"

"O'Connor. Brian O'Connor. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the lady smiled and shook his hand, "I'm Rose, Carla's mother. Please, come in." She ushered Brian inside the apartment. It was small but felt homey in a way. Brian took a seat on the light brown couch, the lady sat across him on a floral-printed armchair. "So, I'm guessing you're Carla's friend?" she started.

"Yeah, we used to work together in the FBI. It's been a while since we've gotten in touch so I decided to just be in the lookout for her."

"I haven't even heard from her since February last year, I think," she let out a dry laugh. "Well, actually I was cooking something when you came in so do you mind if I go check in there for a bit?"

"Definitely not at all. I'm sorry for the disturbance."

"It's nothing. I'll make you something to drink too. Would you like to have tea or coffee?"

"Tea will be fine, thanks." Brian replied.

Rose got up from her seat and heading towards the kitchen, leaving him alone on the living room. The kitchen area was completely out of sight so he thought giving himself a little tour of the house wouldn't hurt. There were 2 bookshelves attached to the wall, opposite to where he was standing and a vintage wood dresser below them. Brian took a step closer to the dresser as he examined the photo frames on top of it, placed neatly in line with each other. The photos were mainly old ones; Carla when she was about 5 years old with her parents, when she graduated police academy and a picture where she was holding a baby. Brian frowned at the sight. He took a closer look at the picture; it really was her, but whose baby?

Then, he heard the room next to the dresser creaked open. A girl who was about a quarter his height stand before the door, her right hand tugged a rabbit doll. She looked startled as she saw him, her eyes widened.

"Hey," Brian smiled and greeted her. He squatted to level himself with her. She must be Carla's daughter, he thought, as the girl inherited her mother's wavy, dark brown hair. She didn't reply, her eyes stared deeply at his. She was about to say something, but got hesitant and went back inside the room, leaving Brian on his own. He raised his brows for a moment, then got up and took a good look at the picture once more.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

"O..oh yeah she is," Brian stuttered. He didn't realize Rose had returned from the kitchen.

"That's Sahara, Carla's daughter. She's turning 5 later this year."

Brian followed Rose as she went back to sit in the couch. She took a sip of her tea before she started, "Sahara lived here with me since she was a baby. Carla didn't have time to attend her so I volunteered," she smiled. "Well, you know, a grandma will always be there for her grandchildren."

He nodded his head and let out a small grin. "I'm sorry but if you don't mind answering, did Carla ever get married?"

"No, I don't think so. Not that I know of," Rose paused, thinking of the right words to say. "I don't even know who the baby father is. She never told me anything. All I know was that she showed up one day at my doorstep and handed me the baby, without leaving any explanation."

Rose saw the slightly confused expression written all over Brian's face and let out a little smile, "This might sound funny to you, Brian, but I guess she really hates me that much. I married her dad when she was 14 and I'm sure it rooted from there."

"I'm sorry about that." Brian let out a concerned smile.

She returned his smile. "Do you have a family, Brian?"

"Yeah, I do. I have a wife and one year old son," he replied.

"Count yourself lucky, young man. Be grateful and take good care of them."

Brian gave her a great smile and hugged her, "Thanks Rose, you take care as well, and the kid too." He hadn't felt this close to a stranger before and feeling so made him a little fuzzy inside. Then he broke their hug and excused himself.

As soon as he reached the front door, Rose said to him, "If you ever find my daughter, let me know, okay?"

"I will."

"I'm sorry O'Conner but you're 10 minutes late. Come 15 minutes earlier and you'd still have your pancakes intact."

"Oh come on," Brian laughed as he landed a small punch on Dom's shoulder.

"I tried to warn him but he won't listen," Mia said. "What took you so long, anyway?"

"I was just driving around, looking for fresh air; ended up visiting Stasiak's office." Brian replied. He picked Jack up from the floor and tossed him to the air, causing the toddler to scream out of excitement.

"Isn't Stasiak that FBI agent?" Letty chipped in. "What were you doing there Brian?"

"Yeah he's also a good friend of mine. He helped me reach out to Braga last time, I just want to check on him that's all."

"Hey babe, why don't you pass me Jack and you go help yourself for lunch, okay?" Mia picked Jack up from Brian and went upstairs to put the baby on his cot.

Brian pulled out a plate from the cupboard and started scooping the spaghetti Mia had prepared earlier. Then he ate alone on the dining table as Dom and Letty had returned to the garage. Brian was glad he met Rose; at least he can give the good woman some company, although he didn't gain much from their meeting. The dots were still disconnected; he had to find out where she is before things could unfold.

"How's the food?" Mia asked, joining him on the table.

"It was great, as usual," he smiled. "I think you should watch my appetite though, you don't want me looking like a couch potato."

Mia laughed as she kissed her husband and said, "I think you'd still look hot even if you're overweight."

Brian chuckled as he pulled her wife's face and gave her a peck on her left cheek.

A couple minutes later he stood up and about to put away the dishes on the sink when Mia saw something odd on his left palm. "What's that Brian?"

"What's what?" he replied.

Mia stood up and grab Brian's left hand, exposing the scribbles. Then she gave him a questioning look.

"Mia, it's just an address."

"What address? You're not cheating are you?"

"I would never cheat on you."

"Then tell me what it is," Mia said, pushing Brian to actually tell the truth.

Brian stared deep into her eyes before continuing, "You really want to know?" he ran his fingers over her cheek, "It's a long story."

Brian showed Mia the old files he had found. He explained to her why this could be very much on their advantage if they wanted to get back on Shaw's older brother.

"I need to find her. She's pretty much the best key we can take."

"You discussed this with Dom yet?" Mia asked as she flipped through the pages.

"No, I haven't told anyone except you," he replied. "I went to Stasiak this morning, hoping to find more clues."

"And?"

"Didn't get that much. He led me to her apartment but she was nowhere to be found," Brian sighed. "I don't know where to find her, honestly."

Mia cupped his cheek with her hand and said, "Have faith, Brian. Look if we are destined to do this, we'll eventually find a way, alright?"

Brian smiled at his wife and hugged her, "Thanks Mia, I believe we will."

Tej and Rome were seen hanging around town. They haven't got back to Miami since Han's funeral so they thought spending another week in LA would be great. That afternoon, they dropped by the Toretto house to spend some time with the crew.

"Hey Brian what's good bruh?" Rome gave him a fist bump and shared a friendly hug. "Hey Mia, what's up girl?"

"Hey Roman, I'm good," Mia smiled and hugged him back.

"Hey man, good to see you bro." he replied with a smile. "What up Tej, my homie?"

"Yo I'm good, just running into a few problems here and there because of your friend right here, bro,"

"Tej, what you sayin? We livin a fast life man, it's normal to have a few leaks here and there," Rome defended himself.

"See, here's the deal; we never gonna get into trouble unless you shut your potty mouth up, that's all I'm asking for."

Brian shook his head and laughed. These two friends of his would never miss an "exchange of words" since day 1. That's just how they were. "Hey man, you two deal with y'all problems alright, I'm outta here."

Overhearing the good ol' banter, Dom and Letty went out of the garage, "Look who's coming." They both smiled at Tej and Rome as they exchanged hugs and kisses. They eventually gathered in the living room and chatted with each other.

"Damn, I miss racing. It's been a while since that event you know," Rome said. "Y'all know what, I think we should dedicate a race for Han."

"Yo, listen, this just in; I heard there'll be a street race downtown tonight and tomorrow night. I'm sure it'll be packed, so who's coming?" Tej asked.

"Oh hell yeah man, I'm in," Rome replied excitedly.

"Nah, not this time bro. Jack's got my time tonight, right Mia?" Brian replied as he kissed Mia's cheek.

"Hey Brian, come on man. Just this once," Rome tried to convince him.

"I don't know," Brian said as he averted his gaze to Mia, waiting for her approval.

"It's fine, I'll take care of Jack tonight."

"Okay just this once man," Brian replied as he smiled to Mia.

"Yeah, I'll join in. Think I need to find some fresh air after such a long time," Letty said.

"Hey Dom, what you sayin?" Tej asked.

Dom smirked, "I say we get on this."

"Alright y'all meet you all there tonight," Tej concluded. "This is gonna be a hell of a night."

The race was indeed crowded that night. The guys and Letty brought out their best cars out. Rome was pretty sure he's going to be the champ of the night but Tej brushed that off his mind.

"Let's be real now bruh. You ain't never won a single race against Brian, let alone the others." Tej sneered.

"Hey man what's your problem? Give a chance for a brother to dream, alright?" Rome snapped, "Now get off and let me get this sorted."

"Whatever man, I bet your ass will bite the dust on that finish line," Tej chuckled.

"Yeah thanks for the support cuz," Roman replied sarcastically.

Letty laughed at the banter the two left out. She changed her mind not to race that night and just cheering for Dom instead.

Rome lined his car just before the starting line, with Brian on his left and Dom on his right.

"You guys ready?" Brian asked.

"Ready and steady," Rome replied.

Dom smirked at his brother in-law, "Just like the good old days."

Brian let out a smile at Dom and Rome. Meanwhile a fourth car was making its way to the line, about to place right next to Brian.

"God damn," Rome exclaimed, his eyes darted to the fourth car, "Look who's got company."

Brian smiled and swiveled his head to the other side. His smile soon vanished when he saw who was on the car.

'It's her,' he thought.

"Hey what's up baby girl?" Rome flirted.

She didn't answer, just letting out a small smile at Rome. Her eyes quickly averted to Brian and shot him a dirty look. 'Let's see what you got, O'Conner.' she thought to herself.

"You guys ready?" The crowd cheered as the engines started revving up.

"Ready."

"Steady."

"Go!"

The cars jumped and flew over the starting line. Dom quickly took the lead, with Brian and the rest following. As soon as they hit a turn, Brian swiftly overtook Carla and Rome to line himself up with Dom. Carla was third, and Rome was just behind her taillights.

'Damn, this girl got skills.' Rome thought.

Another turn was right in front of them. Dom had passed it safely while Brian and Carla were now fighting for second place. She hit the brakes just seconds before him and quickly regained her speed; she overtook Brian effortlessly.

"Shit," Brian hissed.

'Too wide' she thought.

Noise roaring from her V8 engine as she got closer and closer to Dom, the race leader. She perfectly lined up next to him seconds later, with Brian and Rome trailing behind them.

Carla took a quick glance at Dom, before accelerating even more, putting her car just inches ahead of him.

At the last turn before the final straight, Brian fitted his car into a gap next to Carla, this time his car was inches apart from hers. She felt Brian was going to overtake her position, so she hit the NOS immediately, catapulting her to the lead.

'Too soon, sweetheart' Dom thought.

Dom and Brian hit their NOS just seconds after her, making them now perfectly in line with one another. They were just metres away from the finish line.

'Come on, come on' Brian thought as he pushed his car even more.

Dom's car was pushing past Carla's for a moment, but then she regained her speed and maintained a solid run, finishing just inches in front of Dom and Brian; Roman trailing behind them.

'She's probably just lucky' Dom thought as he smiled to himself.

Carla was crowned the winner that night and she got the cash prize for herself. She took a glance at Brian and winked at him. This time, Brian returned a dirty look to her.

"What's with that look O'Conner? You look like a five year old losing on a game," Dom chuckled.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Hey Brian, you should see your face after you got owned by that lady, my man," Rome added.

"Just drop it, Rome," He snapped.

"Another day, another chance. This is just a warm up," Dom patted Brian's shoulder.

Brian didn't leave his gaze on her, if not more intense than before. He saw her leaving with the car and threw the pile of cash out of the window.

"Whoa man, wait up. Did you see that? That cutie just threw out our money," Rome exclaimed, leaving Dom frowned at the scene.

"Who the hell is this girl?" Tej asked, puzzled by the situation.

Brian clenched his jaw. He knew Carla was mocking them. 'I will find you, Ventura. We'll just have to wait and see' he thought to himself.

'See you later, babe' she thought.

Carla left the street race with a big grin plastered on her face, as if she got heaps of trophies for winning it. In fact, she felt like she did; she outpowered Brian, even Dom and gave them a hard slap in the face by disposing all of their money out of the car. She had to break the news, so she searched for her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, I found Toretto and his team."