A/N: Thanks to 2furious4u, Martell2981, Vinces-girl, Sparkles2004 (thanks!) and Lovecraft22 for their reviews.

Well, I got a nice long chapter for you here, mostly Miami, but some other stuff thrown in too. To be honest, I'm just glad to get it out the way so that I can get everyone back in L.A. and get the real story going. I think I'll be posting a poll soon as to whether Letty and Dom should stay together or not, I'll let you know on that.

Happy birthday to Vin Diesel!

Review and Enjoy!


They had talked to Tej, and he had hooked them up with a pretty sweet set up. The Camero and the Challenger were finished and modified with NOS, along with some other interesting tricks. The storage facility was ready, and everyone had been willing to help out, either for Brian and Rome, or out of respect for Tej.

Brian didn't like the idea of keeping secrets from Markham or Bilkins, even if he wasn't sure he could trust them. But the fact was, he just knew something was going to go wrong, and there were a hell of a lot of things that could.

The crooked cop might not keep to his deal with Verone. Verone might change the deal. Markham might charge in too soon and blow their cover, or too late and find them with air-conditioned skulls. 'Course, on the other hand, everything could go fine and the plan would go off without a hitch.

But still, Brian and Rome wanted to be careful. They figured they'd pick up the money, ditch the cars, then the goons, and meet up with Customs after they had busted Verone. That way, they'd be far from the bullets when things went down, and maybe a little cash would go missing, just in case the feds didn't hold up their end of the bargain.

It had taken some convincing, but Rome had finally agreed that getting out free and clear was more important than making a profit. Brian didn't want to get Rome killed. He had gotten his old friend involved in this because he wanted to make amends for what happened before. It hadn't been his fault that Rome had been arrested, but he always felt that if he had been around more instead of hanging out with his rookie buddies, this might have come out different.

Rome had finally forgiven him, and acknowledged that the boosted cars were his fault alone. Despite the mounting pressure on the case, Brian was beginning to feel calmer than he had in years. He always projected the cool, calm persona, but inside his mind was whirling. But now he felt like a kid again, drivin' around all crazy with Rome, laughing, bickering and joking. He wanted Rome to come back to L.A. with him, knowing he'd fit in well with the rest of the crew. But more than anything, he wanted them both out alive.


Leon watched as Letty and Dom avoided each other. It was almost like a dance. They acted normal, well, not normal, but civil, but hey avoided eye contact, avoided touching, while still watching each other when the other wasn't looking.

Obviously, something had happened while he was out the other night. Dom had been quieter than usual, not drinking as much, just thinking. Letty got this sad look in his face when she thought no one was looking. It would seem she had finally spoken her mind, and Dom didn't like it.

Le felt guilt about how he'd treated Letty. Once upon a time, she was like his sister. He laughed with her, looked out for her and had her back. But when Han had left, he'd lost his best friend, and had thrown himself closer to the other guys, looking for that male camaraderie that he missed. He'd got so caught up in it, that he hadn't even blinked an eye when Dom had started sleeping around. Time was, he would have beaten the crap outta Dom for treatin' Letty like that, or at least tried, but he had just figured that if she didn't seem to care, it didn't matter.

They had gotten into this mess and he'd been okay with it. But when they had been on that road and he had watched Letty's car flip, he was so worried. He remembered the days when they and Han would spend hours just talkin', jokin' messin' around. How even with her own shit to deal with, she'd always be there when they needed to vent about their problems.

Since Dom got locked up, none of them had done their jobs as friends. Rae had cut out on them, but none of them had even noticed that she was unhappy. Han had gotten in deep trouble with the Trans, but they hadn't found out 'till to late. Dom was cheatin', Letty was falling apart and the rest of them, well they were all to busy getting' drunk and havin' fun that they hadn't even noticed that they were self-destructing.

Used to be, there'd always be someone who notice you were in trouble, always someone to talk with. They looked out for each other. Now they were so absorbed in their own dramas that they didn't notice the world changin' around them.

Maybe Han and Rae were right to leave. Maybe they had sensed the ship sinking and had decided to jump before they hit rock bottom. The Team, the Team was a joke. They weren't a team, the were Dominic Toretto's entourage, something to feed his ego. He didn't need friends anymore, just groupies. And they were all too happy to comply, just happy to have him back in their lives.

Leon didn't know if he even wanted to stay around anymore. Maybe after all this was cleared up, and Jesse was back on his feet, he'd go catch up with Han in Tokyo, he'd heard it was pretty sweet there. He hadn't heard anything from his friend since he'd left, but he knew than Han wouldn't be able to stay away from the racing scene for long, and now that Tran was dead, he was free and clear to come back stateside.

But first there was one thing he had to do first.

He waited 'till Dom went out to pick up some groceries from the market, since Letty refused to leave the apartment. He found her in the living room, flickin' through the channels, trying to find something that wasn't a Mexican soap opera.

"Hey, Le," she said quietly, her eyes still fixed on the screen.

"Letty, I gotta say somethin'."

She frowned, and flick off the TV. "What is it, bro?"

"I'm sorry. I let Dom treat you like shit and I shouldn't have. I haven't been a very good friend, and I'm sorry," he shrugged, never one for long speeches.

The next thing he knew, she was barrelling into him, he arms wrapping 'round his waist. "Thanks, Le," she mumbled against his chest.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and said, "It'll be alright, girl. We'll figure it out."

He hoped to god he was right.


They had already picked up Verone's money from some shitty trailer park, but now the cops were after them. Verone's cop had grown some balls and actually done his job for once. Too bad it was at the one time they needed him to be dirty. If they got picked up by the Miami police, they were done for.

Enrique was riding with Brian in the Evo while Rome was stuck with Roberto in the Spyder. Rome had watched as Brian had hung out of his car trying to pull out some kind of crazy-assed harpoon outta the side. Now they were side by side, headed toward Tej's set-up at the storage place.

Good thing they had set it up, they were going to need it. Rome still wished the plan was taking the cash and runnin', but he knew that Brian wouldn't leave his people in L.A., and Rome wasn't gonna cut out and leave his best friend waist high in feds. He was curious 'bout these new folks he was ridin' with, but now wasn't the time.

He could almost feel the smugness of the cops as they thought they had the two cars cornered, and he wished he could see their faces when they realised how wrong they were.

Rome followed close behind Brian as they slid into the only two open doors of the large building, hearing them close quickly behind them. As Rome and Brian quickly jumped out of their cars, Enrique and Roberto looking around the car and people filled building in confused awe.

"What's going on?" Roberto asked Rome suspiciously as he opened the trunk.

"We switchin' wheels, man. Loosing the cops. Grab that bag, would ya?" Rome replied, lifting two of the bags and moving them to the Challenger, seeing Brian doing the same with the Camero.

"You ready bro?" Brian asked Tej as he walked up with Suki close behind.

"Always, man. Always." Suki just rolled her eyes, stepping gracefully into the Spyder. Other people were getting quickly in their rides and starting their engines. Yells and cries went out as the excitement built.

"What are you going to do?" Enrique asked Brian as they got in the Camero.

"You'll see, man. You'll see."

Tej yelled out the window. "Alright people, let's do this!"

At his words, the guys standing by the doors opened them all, shining trucks shooting out and ramming the police cars waiting outside. After there were a few clear paths, the rest of the cars followed.

The parking lot was a kaleidoscope of cars, all different makes, and different colors, all driving circles round the cops and scarin' the shit outta them. After a few minutes of random driving that reminded Rome of the demolition derby back in Barstow, Brian's voice crackled across the radio, "Y'all lets break!"

At that, everyone began to exit the lot, perfectly synchronized as even more cars came flooding out including their four cars. They joined the massive flood of cars, and just like they'd hoped, the cops followed Tej and Suki instead of them.

They soon left them behind completely and were sail towards the landing strip. Rome, as usual kept talkin' his mouth off 'till they were clear of traffic. Making sure he was far behind Brian, he turned to Roberto.

"Enjoyin' the ride?" he asked, grinning. Roberto just raised and eyebrow. "Man, it's a fast car, huh?" Nothing. "Man, it's a classic. Old School. American Muscle." He laughed at the thought of what he was going to do to this jackass. "Man, this car can do all kinda thing, man. Wanna see?" He laughed again. "Check this out right here, homey," he said reaching and unbuckling dude's belt.

"Hey, what the hell?! What are you doin' man?"

Rome reached over and smashed Roberto's head against the dash a few times 'till he was too dazed to move. Then he laughed, pressing the button to the NOS powered seat. Roberto screamed as he was shot out of the fast moving car into the water.

"Ejecto seato, cuz! It worked! I love this button!" Shit that was fun!"Stay on your toes punto!" he called back, even though he was to far for the dude to hear him.

He picked up the radio, "Mr. O'Connor, it worked baby, blow and go, I'm all clear! Meet me at the point, hurry up man, its on, baby!" he said, careful not to say anything that would directly alert the other goon.

"Alight, ten-four man," Brian's voice came back at him.

He made his way to their meet point, knowing that Markham, in all his tight-ass glory, would be stormin' Verone's plane as soon as he heard the were off the radar. He and Bri would hand off some of the cash to Jimmy, then met back up with the feds, who would be none the wiser to a little missing green.

He got there, but there was no sign of the Camero. "Brian, Brian man. What's the hold up bro?"

"Yo, Rome. There's a new plan," Brian's voice came back tightly.

"What the hell?!"

"We're meetin' him at the Tarpin Point exit, not the airstrip."

"So what are you sayin'?" he asked, tryin' to figure out what Brian was tryin' to tell him.

"Like I said, there's a new plan."

"Brian." No answer. "Brian, hello? You there?" Rome felt cold dread slide down his spine in sharp contrast with the hot Florida sun. "Damn!"

"Yo, what the hell is he doin'?" Jimmy asked, agitated.

"The feds are in the wrong place," he snapped, storming past the shorter man. "Fuentes is on her own with Verone."

"So…?"

"So Brian's not comin'!"

He jumped back in his car and sped to Tarpin point, alternately prayin' than he wasn't too late, and cursin' Brian being so damn good.

As he got near, he started gettin' Enrique's voice over the radio. "What's that? What's that?"

"That's Barstow baby!" he yelled back, "it's about to get ugly!" He rammed into the black Navigator parked behind Brian's car, hoping it would be enough of a distraction.

His heart nearly stopped when he hear gunshots coming from the Camero, but he saw to figures still struggling so he figured no one was hurt too bad. He pulled himself out of the window of the wrecked Challenger, and knocked out the driver of the Navigator, then went to help Bri.

When he opened the door and pulled out Enrique, Brian let out an, "Oh shit!" and came tumbling after. He knocked him down, so did Brian, but the dude just kept getting' up. Brian was getting' a little crazy, but most folks do when someone's just tried to kill 'em.

After dude finally went down, they ran of toward the pier, only to see Verone's big-ass yacht cruising off, him and Fuentes up top. They ran back to the Camero, gettin' rid of the bullet hole-ridden windscreen and takin' off after them.

"I thought you was dead, man," he said, watchin' the wind mess up Brian's hair. He was right about the mousse.

"Yeah, me too, thanks for savin' my ass, bro," Brian said frantically.

Rome looked ahead at the road, not sure what his friend was trying to do. "What are you doin', Brian?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "but if Verone sees a helicopter or customs boats, she's dead."

The light dawned. "Boat. Car. Boat. You're not goin' to do what I think you're goin' to do?"

"Yeah, I think so. You got my back, bro?"

"Yeah." No question.

"Alright, man. Put on your seatbelt." Bri said, reaching for his own.

"Show 'em some real Dukes of Hazard shit, bro!"

"We're gonna do this big! Hold on, Rome! Hold on!" Brian yelled as he pushed even harder on the gas, speeding toward the boat.

The reality of what they were going to do finally hit Rome. "Ohhhh! Brian, you crazy, man! What the hell you doin'?!"

They both screamed as the car went shooting into the air. Rome could almost hear the horn in his head. There was a moment where it felt like the car was flyin', then they landed hard, square on Verone's boat.

Rome felt pain shoot up his arm, and Brian was clutching his head where it had hit the steering wheel. That was the stupidest thing I've done in my life!

"I think I broke my arm, man," he said through teeth gritted against the pain. They both saw Verone edging towards them with a shotgun. "Get the gun," Rome said, pushing it towards Brian with his good arm.

The next thing they knew, Fuentes was there, holding the shotgun on Verone. "It's over, Carter."

"You okay?" Brian asked, still holding the gun on Verone.

"Yeah," she yelled back, "I'm great."

They both collapsed back against their seats.

"We got him, man. We got him," Rome said quietly. "Let's get outta here."


Vince didn't mention their kiss when he saw Rae the next morning. He pretended like he was too drunk to remember anything. He'd done that a few times before, usually tryin' to get outta trouble. But he hadn't been too drunk to see the look in her eyes, or feel when she kissed him back.

He didn't know why he'd done it in the first place. She'd just been standing there, trying to get him into bed, and he had looked into those big, warm eyes and suddenly everything had come flooding back, 'cept he was too drunk to feel any of the usual guilt about the way he had treated her.

So was so different that she used to be, except that she wasn't. She was tougher, more mature, obviously a lot less innocent than before, but she still had that quiet presence and the uncanny ability to come at you from a different angle than anyone expected. Unpredictable, that was it. Not in a wild and crazy way, but just enough to remind you that there was more to her than met the eye.

That was one of the things that had always made Vince nervous about her. He liked nice, solid, dependable people. People you could rely on to react a certain way. Not her. You never knew what you were going to get. One day, a laugh, then next, you could be on your ass in the dirt.

But damn if she didn't taste just as sweet! He knew he shouldn't think this like that. Now, well yeah. She was grown up, older than Mia, even. But she was still just that kid that used to bug him. Thinking about her like that was wrong.

But he still did. He watched her as she moved around the kitchen. Bending down to pick up something the kid had dropped. Placing it in front of her and pecking her head. Humming 'Butterflies and Hurricanes' under her breath as she sliced cheese for sandwiches.

She was beautiful. A little taller than when she'd left, maybe 5'7", and a little curvier. She dressed differently too. More confidently. Her scars had always bothered her, but now she bared her arms with pride, showing of the intricate designs covering her forearms. She didn't mind showing skin, and although she wasn't dressing to impress, she was obviously aware of her good looks. She was still fairly minimal, choosing, like Letty, to wear very little make-up. Vince preferred that to chicks who looked like their faces were melted wax.

"You like pony?" a small voice asked, and Vince turned his head only to come face to face with a bright pink horse with huge blue eyes, oversized lashes and ridiculously long hair. It was the drag queen of ponies.

He looked from the horse to the little girl holding it and found himself looking into the same brown eyes. "It's…colourful," he replied diplomatically. Rae snorted from where she was standing with her back turned.

"An' Vivie gived me it when I visiteded her. It called Binky."

"Really?" Vince said, amused despite himself.

"Yup. She make 'ainbows, an' sunshine, an' puppies, an' kitties, an' she eat people who mean," she said unblinkingly. Yep, this is definitely Rae's kid.

"Binky, huh?" he said quietly. She nodded, her wavy pigtails bouncing. "Suits her," he said sitting back as Rae placed the food in front of him.

"Mia! Food's ready!" Rae yelled up the stairs.

"She already left," Vince told her. "She had to open up early for deliveries."

"Oh. Well. Enjoy." She sat down opposite him, not meeting his eyes. "Eat your sandwich, sweetie," she said to Ella, taking the toy and placing it out of the little girl's reach.

They sat it silence for a while.

"You work as an inker, now?" he asked, trying to figure out this new Rae.

"Yeah. I spent so much time hanging around the parlour here, that when I moved to Chicago, I needed some cash, so I figured I could sell some designs to a local parlour. The guy that ran it, Kevin, he offered me a job on the spot, didn't care that I was three months pregnant by then. He showed me the ropes and gave me a job. A couple months ago he gave me the parlour to run while he opened another place across town. I still work their, but I'm covered for now."

Vince nodded. "Sounds good. I figured you might need to get back or somethin'"

She tilted her head, a smile tugging at her full lips. "You tryin' to get rid of me, Martelli?"

He shook his head, snorting a laugh. "Nah, just wonderin'. I mean, you got the kid and sh… stuff."

She smiled her thanks. "I've got some cash saved up. I'm plannin' on staying 'till Jesse's better," she said with total confidence that that would be the case. "If I need some extra cash, I can always work as a guest artist here in town. I've got a few people I could call."

"Berto would probably love to have you work for him," he said referring to the guy that ran the shop he usually went to. "He missed you somethin' crazy when you left. Said it was way too quiet."

She just smiled sadly and looked at her plate. She took a deep breath. "I appreciate you keeping quiet about why I left. I know it was more than I deserved."

"You weren't the only one that screwed up."

Her head lifted sharply, her eyes searching his, and he knew he'd said the wrong thing. She nodded sharply, then stood and cleared the dishes, their little window of pleasant conversation gone.

"I, uh. I have an appointment at the hospital," he said as he helped her clear the table.

She nodded again. "Give me a minute and I'll drive you."

"Thanks."

She didn't replied, just turned her back and finished cleaning. He went slowly down the stairs to his room, gathering up the few papers he'd need. His eyes drifted to the small, battered wooden box he kept on his dresser. If she even found out what he had in there, she'd probably kill him. He'd had it since the day she left.

He shook his head, clearing his mind, and made his way slowly back up the stairs. He found Rae waiting, Ella held propped against her hip. "You ready?" she asked, twirling the keys to her rental.

"Yeah."

"Let's go."


Brian watched as the EMT patched up Rome's dislocated elbow. The feds had shown up in record time, bringing the rest of the circus with them. Markham had barged in, but after he'd spoken to Agent Fuentes, he'd calmed down and walked over to where they were perched.

"So, there were three bags total, huh? The three from the boat?" he asked them quietly. Brian, of course, knew there were three more, but he wasn't going to rat out Rome.

"So we good, right?" he friend asked warily. "Our records clean?"

Markham nodded. "You held up your end, your records are clean."

"And the Team?" Brian asked.

"All charges dropped, Bilkins is calling the D.A. right now."

Brian gave Rome a look. He kept up his end, now it's our turn. Rome got up slowly and walked to the Challenger, coming back a few seconds later and setting down the three other bags with a thump.

"So maybe there was six bags; I guess we can call it even," Rome said to Markham.

Markham, still looking at Rome, called out, "Agent Dunn."

"Sir."

He shook their hands smiling. Apparently, without the tension of the case, he was an okay guy. "Found some more evidence."

Dunn with his usual slightly confused expression took the bags to the evidence truck. The looked over and saw Verone being patched up by the EMTs.

"Don't drop the soap, big homey!" Rome gloated.

Verone just gave them a dark smile.

"I hope you know that when he gets out, he gonna kill your ass," Brian said, still smiling, but knowing that like Johnny Tran, Verone would never stay down 'till he was stone cold dead.

"He ain't gettin' out," Rome replied, still grinning.

"I'll see you soon," Verone called back as the police began to lead him off.

"You think he gon' get out?" Rome asked, worry creeping into his tone.

"He'll be out," Brian replied, leaving the worry for another day as he walked over to where Bilkins and Fuentes were waiting.

"Nah, for real, you think he gettin' out, though?" Rome asked disbelievingly.

"We took care of your decoys, they're free and clear," Bilkins informed them. Bri was glad to here that Tej and Suki were okay; they had really stuck their necks out for him. "There's a sedan out on the road for you," Bilkins continued, "try to bring in back in one piece."

Rome laughed beside him as he replied, "Thanks a lot, Bilkins. You're all right."

"Thanks."

"Thanks for lookin' out man." Things had changed a lot in the few weeks he had been in Miami. Bilkins, who had once been the one gunnin' hardest for Dom and the Team, was now someone Brian would trust with his life.

"So you trust me now?" Monica asked Rome.

"You aight," Rome replied, smiling big. She smiled back then shook his bad arm, and Brian wasn't entirely sure it was an accident. He couldn't blame her for wanting to get a little payback after Rome had been so hostile.

"Nice working with you, O'Connor," she said, smiling at him, a little regret in her eyes.

"Same here."

"Yo, where now bro?" Rome asked after they had walked a little.

"I'm headin' west, back to L.A." Brian replied. They were quiet for a moment. "You comin'?"

"What about the folks you got there? What they like?"

"Well, Dom's cool, sorta in charge, and Vince is his second. V. and I, well, we ain't been so good in the past, but we were workin' things out. Leon's totally laid back, and Jesse's great. He's in hospital though, got shot up pretty bad. Then there's Letty, Dom's girl, she kinda scary, but a great mechanic. Her cousins Rae and Alex are there too, but they came after the heists, I don't know them so well, and I don't know how long they'll be 'round. Then there's Dom's sister Mia."

"Aha! I knew there was a girl in there somewhere! It's always about a girl with you, man," Rome said gleefully.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Aww, come on cuz, is too."

"Whatever. I think you better stay here. I don't think I want you in L.A. after all," Brian joked.

"Too bad boy, you ain't getting' rid of me that easy. Nuh-uh. I gotta watch you, keep you outta trouble." Rome replied, slapping his back.

"Whatever."