A/N: One of the things I find most intriguing about Fast 8 is the prospect of learning more about Dom's background as he is, like Vin said, of Cuban descent. That's why I decided to add a little bit of that to my story. Maybe you had a feeling Dom would do this... Hope you like it.

Thanks to my fangirl friend Mia for helping me out with the Spanish x

Flashbacks start and end in italics.

Dom came into the darkened room quietly. With the moonlight peeking through the window, right onto the bed, his eyes spotted his beloved wife immediately. The sight of her made him smile. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful sleeping there that Dom didn't have the heart to wake her. Taking off his clothes, he slid into bed beside her. The desire to be close to her, to feel the warmth of her was too strong. Dom gently kissed Letty's cheek, trying not to wake her but wanting to feel her skin brush against his lips yet again.

"I've missed you so much," he said in a whisper, spooning her.

"Hoy estás muy callado. Te pasa algo?" (You're very quiet today. Is something wrong?)

"It's Letty," Dom answered after a moment of silence, looking at her.

His grandmother was working in the kitchen, making dinner, while he sat on a bar chair at the kitchen island, his hands playing with one of her steak knives. Dom had been in that chair for what felt like hours. People could burn down the house and he'd keep sitting there moping over things. It had only been a day since he came to Cuba to visit his family. The last time he'd been there, he'd still been a little boy, so he wanted to enjoy being back. But right now, all he could think about was her.

"How is she?" Ramona asked, "I haven't seen her since she was a child." She smiled at her grandson, then approached Dom, looking a bit worried. "Are you and Leticia still–"

"Yes, yes... We are," Dom replied, letting go of the knife. He turned to face his grandmother and started smiling weakly as he revealed to her what he had been hiding from everyone. "We're– Somos marido y mujer. We're married."

Dom feared that his father's mother could be disappointed or sad that he had kept such secret from her, but she just smiled happily at him, proudly even, and it warmed Dom's heart to see the loving look on her face. For a moment, it seemed like Ramona was too overwhelmed with emotions to say something. She just threw her arms round his neck and hugged him tightly. Dom pulled her close, chuckling, as the old woman uttered words of disbelief.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you," he offered an apology when Ramona broke away from the hug, yet she slapped the back of his head.

"Vaya manera de tratar a tu abuela, qué vergüenza, Dominic Toretto," (What a way to treat your grandmother, you should be ashamed), she complained, half-joking, "Not telling your family about it... Didn't your parents teach you better than that?"

"That's why I'm here," Dom let her know, rubbing the back of his head where her hand had smacked him. "I want to–" He paused, thinking of all the things he still had to do to put his plan into action. "I know I should've said something, but we wanted it to be our secret, and– Look, I–I really need your help. I can't do this without you."

Dom stared at her, and she looked like she wasn't sure if she should reward him for keeping his marriage a secret by offering her support, but in the end, Ramona smiled at him again. Whatever he needed help with, it seemed to mean a lot to him, and she could never turn him down like that. He still was the little boy to her that he'd been the last time she had seen him. And since he had been born her very first grandchild, her bond with him was a special one anyway.

"What can I do to help?"

Dom's face lit up, like she had just told him one of the happiest news of his life. Coming here, doing this, had been the right decision, even though being away from Letty was definitely the worst kind of feeling in the world right now. But none of it would really matter anymore, if he could make this work, because he knew they would both be happy. Happy to be together, happy to be married. Usually, none of his plans worked out the way he'd imagined, but this time it would be different. Dom could feel it. It'd be great!

"I need you to take care of the food," he told her. "I know your home cooking skills are good enough to make their way to a restaurant to make money, so I need you to do what you do best... perform some magic in here." With a nod, Dom pointed to the pots on the stove. "You gotta have those ready in about two weeks. Create a three-course menu. Cuban-style, maybe? Can you do that? Please tell me you can do it."

Ramona laughed. He seemed a bit desperate, as though she was his last resort, and if she wouldn't want to do that, or if she couldn't, all he had planned would fail. She could tell without a word from him that whatever her grandson intended to do, he wanted to do for Letty. She must mean a lot to him. And Ramona was happy that her baby had finally grown up to be a real man; a man, who appreciated the love of a great woman. That sure must be what Letty was – a great woman. Dom had obviously found true love, and that made her incredibly happy.

"Dom, my darling," she started, as she turned her back to him to focus on the meal she was cooking. "You should know that there's absolutely nothing that your abuela can't do," she chuckled, "especially when it comes to cooking." Ramona looked over her shoulder to see his face, his grinning face. "So, consider it done," she declared. "I just–"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Dom launched himself out of the chair and made his way over to her to hug his grandma from behind. "Muchas gracias, abuelita! I owe you," he thanked her once more, kissing her on the cheek.

"I just have one condition," Ramona finished her sentence.

"Whatever you want," Dom stated, giving her small body one final squeeze before he let go.

"I wanna meet your wife." Turning around, she added, "I wanna know if she's still got that attitude... that big mouth." She laughed. "I'd love to get to know her better."

"Oh, trust me, she's still very much the same girl she's always been," Dom said with a smirk on his lips. "Only she looks like a woman now." His smirk grew bigger when he saw his grandma rolling her eyes a little. "What do you expect," he laughed. "I'm a man. Those fine curves were the first thing I noticed."

"That's what your father said when he brought home his first car, like he couldn't resist spending all his money on that rust bucket 'cause of those curves," Ramona mumbled.

Hearing her talk about his father, Dom couldn't help but smile, yet there was a split second where it hurt deeply to know that he would never ever get to hear his dad's side of the story. He probably hadn't even heard half of what his father had done as a teenager, but maybe being with his grandmother would give him a chance to get to know more about the early life of Anton Toretto. Maybe she had a lot of other great stories to tell.

"Of course you're gonna meet her," Dom responded to his grandma's request. "I want you all there. The entire family. You, Fernando, the girls... I'll ask Mia to come, too."

"And what exactly are you planning to do?" she asked, frowning.

"Marry her," Dom blurted out. "I'm gonna ask her to marry me." There was a sense of pride in his voice. "Again," he added, grinning. And his bright face and joy-beaming glance warmed Ramona's heart.

When her grandson had told her he'd finally come visit her again, she hadn't expected it to be like this; this emotional. She hadn't been aware of how much she had missed him until now that he stood there, full of love and happiness. She remembered the last time she had seen that look on Dom's face. It was when his dad had still been alive, telling him they would go for a ride together in his new car. She had hoped back then that maybe one day her grandchild would find that same joy in a girl instead of a car. Seeing that he had, made her wish his father would still be there to witness that.

"Eso es muy dulce y romántico. (That is so sweet and romantic.) I hope she's gonna say yes."

"I hope so too," Dom laughed, as he sat back on the chair. "I have a lot of making up to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, just that–" Dom sighed. "Well, to be honest, I haven't exactly been the ideal husband, so I wanna have this day to make a clear cut, you know, from the past," he explained. "It's not like I wanna forget it, I just– I want a moment where we'll know that's a new beginning... for us. And I think this day will be– God, I just wanna make her a promise I can keep this time... that I'm not gonna break. I really messed up and I hope she's gonna give me a second chance to make it right."

The old lady kept silent for a few minutes, thinking about what he had said. Then she glanced at him with a concerned look on her face. He still hadn't said anything about why he'd been sitting in the kitchen for hours, looking so sad. She was sure he preferred not to talk about it, maybe wished she had forgotten that by now, but she felt like it was important that he eased himself. If there was something going on that made him feel down, she wanted to know what it was, and she wanted to help him, even if that only meant listening to whatever he had to say.

"So, will you tell me what's wrong with you, sweetheart, or do I have to call your wife to find out?"

Dom preferred to think first this time before he opened his mouth. Should he tell his grandma about the abortion Letty had? Did Letty even want anyone to know about it? Maybe she wanted to keep it between them, so no one would bring it up and ask questions or even dare to judge her. Sighing, Dom limply moved his hand over his head and rested it on his face, rubbing his eyes wearily. How was he supposed to know if he could tell? Letty hadn't asked him to keep it a secret, but she hadn't explicitly expressed that he was allowed to talk about it either. But he needed to. He couldn't just–

"Right before... I came here," Dom started explaining himself, "Letty told me that she'd had–" He looked over to his grandmother, trying his best not to break under the weight of the emotional baggage he was carrying. He really didn't want to break down and cry, but his heart screamed otherwise. And because it was impossible to fight it, he allowed his tears to run freely for a minute. Silently, Dom cried – something he thought his grandma would never see him do as a man.

Ramona stared at the strong man her grandchild had turned into. It had been ages since she had last seen him cry, mourning the loss of his father. And now? Now, it looked like he carried a lot of grief about something else. Or was it regret that he felt? Ramona couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it had to be pretty heavy to make a man like him cry like that. She could only hope that he knew he didn't have to carry whatever burden he had all by himself. She'd be there for him if he let her. All he needed to do was talk. And she knew that was hard for him too sometimes.

Taking a deep breath, Dom calmed down. He couldn't deny that it had been a relief to just let it go and not hold on to it for the sake of keeping a straight face in the presence of someone other than Letty. He was with family here, so there was no need to act tough when he didn't feel like it. And this really wasn't something he could play down as though it didn't mean much. The simple fact that he still cried about it showed how serious it was. He would get over it, but not any time soon. It might take him years to process this. Right now, Dom really didn't know if this pain would ever hurt less let alone vanish completely.

"I wanted her to be safe. The cops were all on to us, so I thought it'd be best for her, if I go, you know, just... be on my own for a while." Dom grabbed the kitchen knife by the handle, holding it upside down, twisting and turning it so its blade left marks in the wood of the cooking island. "I left her... when she was pregnant," he revealed, ramming the knife into the wood so it stuck.

"You mean–"

"I mean, I really... really fucked up," he sighed, getting up. "She had... an abortion... and I'm–I'm trying to understand why she did it, but–" Dom went to the kitchen sink and filled a glass full of cold tap water, and drank it down in thirsty gulps. Then he put the glass away and turned back to Ramona. "I'm still so angry with her. I just can't help it," he admitted. "If she had told Mia, Mia could've told me, and– Why would she do something like that without telling me? I don't know how to get passed this."

Dom felt his grandmother's hand on his shoulder. "But you have to, Dominic" she told him. "I'm sure she had–"

"I'm even more angry with myself," Dom cut her off quickly. "You know, I look at her and I'm just sorry." He let out another sigh. "I'm so sorry I put her through this... That I made her do this. I get why Letty didn't wanna– But I still wish I would've known." He pulled his grandmother into a hug, resting his head on her shoulder. She immediately hugged him back. "Me duele," he breathed against her neck. "It hurts so much and I can't–"

Ramona tried to calm him down by rubbing the back of his head with one hand. He wasn't crying again, though she could tell he was close. She felt sorry for him as much as she did for Letty. Making that decision must've been hard, especially knowing how much Dom wanted children. He was just like his father, a family man. Family meant everything to him. It was what mattered most in his life. He would get over it, Ramona was sure of that. He just needed to give it some time. And he needed to do something else, which probably was even harder for him to do.

"Look at me, hijo," she whispered, waiting for Dom to move and meet her eyes. "You can't forgive Leticia unless you learn to forgive yourself, and I know that's not easy, but you have to," she spoke sincere. "You have to forgive yourself, Dominic... for leaving her and forcing her into this situation or you will never be able to put this behind you." She cupped his face and smiled. "You deserve to be forgiven, and Letty obviously thinks so too or she wouldn't still be with you, right?"

"But I don't know if–"

"Right?" she repeated, louder this time, and Dom nodded softly.

"She's working on it," he said. "I'm not exactly sure if she has yet, but she really wants to forgive me."

"And she will," Ramona assured him before placing a kiss on his cheek. "You should do the same."

Dom hugged her again, running his hands up and down her back. "You know, I seriously should've come here sooner," he chuckled. "I'm lucky to have you."

Patting his back, Ramona grinned. "Don't believe for a second that I don't know you're just here for the food," she laughed. They hugged for a minute until she broke the silence, telling him, "You'll be a great dad one day. Your father would be so proud of you."

When Dom locked eyes with her, his face wore a huge smile, although it hurt to even think about what his dad would say to the things he had done. Would he really be proud of him? All his dad had ever wanted him to be was someone he himself could be proud of, and right now, he wasn't the least bit proud of himself. But making mistakes didn't necessarily make him a bad person. It was how he decided to own up to what he had done that was important; how he made up for his wrongdoings.

Maybe he had lost his path for a while, but having Letty back had definitely reminded him of what was important, and who he really was and wanted to be. And he'd do anything to become that kind of person he could be proud of again. He'd make his father proud by not letting his stupid mistakes ruin his relationship with Letty. No matter what he had done in the past, he still had the chance to do it right. He should be grateful for that.

"I miss him," he mentioned quietly. "After all these years, I still miss him... a lot. I wish he were here."

"Me too, son... me too," Ramona sighed. "Now c'mon, let's eat."

Laying next to her, Dom's thoughts trailed off as he heard Letty starting to stir. Although he hadn't wanted to wake her, he was glad she was awake. Stroking along the side of Letty's body, he drew a deep breath and kissed his wife's shoulder multiple times. He rested his head on his hand as he gazed at her; a fingertip up the side of her neck to trace the curve of her ear.

Letty turned in his arms to face him, her own fingertips exploring his features as if she would learn every contour, every plane of his countenance. Dom's flesh jumped under her light touch. He closed his eyes. His body felt so sensitive, so responsive to her caressing that he swore his skin would catch fire. He wanted her, he'd wanted her all his life, and nothing could ever change that. She was the only woman that could make him feel this way.

She closed the distance between them, burying her face in his neck like a leech, her lips touching his skin over and over again as though she had to convince herself that it wasn't just a dream and Dom had really come back. She wanted to feel him, breathe him in, and press her body against his as hard as she could. They wrestled for a moment, and then their legs entangled.

For minutes, Letty lay motionless, her face huddled into the hollow of Dom's throat, with one arm around his neck. She hadn't known how much she had really missed him until now, now that he was back with her. She could only hope that he didn't plan on leaving her again anytime soon. She could make it on her own, survive without him, if that was what she really had to do, but being with him made her stronger. She could live without him, but she didn't want to. She needed him.

"I'm so happy you were born," she whispered in the wake of Dom's birthday that given how late it was had to be now. If he hadn't kissed her temple, she most likely would've fallen back to sleep immediately, because being in his arms was home, comfort and joy all in one. The warm and fuzzy feeling he gave her was pretty narcotic.

Dom emitted a soft laugh. "Well, I'm glad you finally changed your mind," he chuckled deeply, kissing Letty on the top of her head.

Everyone quickly gathered around, staring at the young Latina, who lay on the ground, wincing in pain. She screamed, and cursed like a sailor. Glass, shiny and clear, poked out of her skin. Mia knew that once she got that out, there would be blood everywhere, but she had to do it. Kneeling down next to Letty, she put a hand on her head trying to calm her down. The fact that she wanted to go to nursing school helped her remember the things she could do to stop the bleeding.

"Okay, this gonna hurt like hell, and you might hate me for it, but I gotta do something about your arm," Mia told her, and Letty's eyes snapped wide open. "I know," Mia sighed, "but I have to, Letty, I–" When she pulled out the big shard of glass, Letty screamed at the top of her lungs. "I'm sorry, Let, I'm so sorry," Mia cried out.

Grabbing her belt, she removed it with shaking hands and fashioned it into a tourniquet just above the bleeding gash, then drew it tight. She couldn't remember anymore how her big brother had managed to wipe out next to her best friend like that, but Mia seriously hoped it was the last time he had pulled that incredibly stupid stunt. She quickly looked over to him. He stood there with a concerned look on his face, probably grateful to still be in one piece after what he'd just done.

"You happy," she asked him angrily.

"Could've been worse, Mi," Vince butted in, earning an evil look from Dom's little sister.

"I just pulled part of his windshield outta her arm, how much worse could it be?" she snarled at him.

"Mia, I'm fine," Letty groaned with pain. "I can– Can we just go home?" Letty tried sitting upright. Her arm hurt like hell, but looking at it, she thought it wasn't even that bad. At least it didn't look as bad as it hurt.

"Home?" Mia frowned. "We should get you to the ER."

"Please... don't," Letty protested, "Don't– You know how much I hate hospitals. Can't you just patch me up at your place?" Taking another look at her arm, she noticed, "It's not even bleeding... that much... anymore, and I really... feel fine."

Ignoring Letty for a moment, Mia got up from the ground and went over to Dom, who still hadn't said anything. "I don't know what to do, Dom. She could get an infection." She tried to appeal to her brother's common sense, but she wasn't too optimistic that it would work considering who was responsible for this. "She needs a doctor. A real one."

"Mia, the cops are probably already on their way, we don't have time to argue. Help me up. C'mon now!" Letty yelled at her.

"You shut up! I'm talking to Dom!" Mia shouted, not turning round to face her. She was sick of all these people playing games. She knew Letty wasn't as tough as she led everyone to believe, and she damn well knew her brother wasn't either. Why couldn't they act like decent people for once and do the right thing? She wished she could just take Letty with her to the hospital, but she couldn't do it alone. She needed help. Dom's help.

Letty stared at the man mentioned. He was such an idiot, yet she just couldn't help but find him attractive and the way he'd tried to show off had definitely made an impression on her, even though the car stunt hadn't worked out as planned. He had pretty much everything she was looking for in a guy, if she was even looking for one, but Dominic Toretto hadn't acknowledged her existence in the last few years, so now that he had somewhat of an interest in her she should give in to that? Well, he definitely had to do a lot more than that stunt to make up for all the times he had ignored her in the past. Did he really want her, though? She still wasn't sure.

"If she says she's fine, she's fine," Dom mumbled. "And she's got a point... The cops–"

"So you want me to take her home, patch her up and act like this never happened?" Mia sounded mad, and Dom knew she was even madder than her voice let on.

"Vince and I will take her," he told his sister, walking up to the spot where Letty was sitting on the ground.

This was stupid, he knew it was, but he felt like he owed Letty. He owed her to do what she wanted, because he was the reason why she was hurt. If she really felt like she didn't need a doctor then her injury apparently wasn't that bad. Although probably she was just being Letty, and Letty was one of the most stubborn people he had ever met. He kind of liked that about her, he had to admit. If Letty Ortiz had made up her mind there was absolutely no one that could make her do anything she didn't want to – that much he had learned about the Latina despite the fact that he hadn't taken real notice of her in the past. If they brought her to the hospital, she would probably run away, Dom thought, smirking.

Mia caught that smirk on his face right away, though it was only there for like a second. "Dom, this isn't funny!"

"No, it's not, but you know her, Mia. What are we supposed to do? She doesn't want to go and you know she's just gonna leave, if–"

"Hello," Letty shouted, "I can hear you, you know? So how about you stop talking to each other like I'm not even there and take me the fuck home!"

She was starting to get real angry, and if they kept ignoring her, her mood would only get worse. It even made her forget all about the pain. She didn't want to be anywhere near a damn hospital and she didn't want to be out here on the street any longer either. She just wanted to rest. At home. Why was that to hard to understand? Her arm would be okay. She trusted Mia to do the right thing with it. How come Mia herself seemed not to believe in her own skills? She was good at this stuff. A lot better than Dom was at driving cars apparently.

"If anything happens to her, it's on you, you hear me?" Mia made Dom understand that she didn't support his decision, and just walked off. It was a mistake. She could feel it. No matter how good she might be at this nursing stuff, it was a bad thing to take Letty home without giving her professional medical care. She knew it would come back to haunt them. She just knew it. But telling anyone was a waste of breath. No one around here liked to hear the truth. The boys never did. That's one thing she really hated. They always acted like they owned the world when, frankly, they only owned the cars they crashed.

Letty spent two days at home with the others before she became sick. It started out as a minor infection, which Letty put off as 'nothing she couldn't handle,' but soon had her knocked out cold on the bathroom floor. Mia found her, unconscious, and didn't waste a second to call an ambulance. The thing she had feared could happen to Letty, had happened. She wasn't absolutely sure what was wrong with her, but her arm looked bad. And Letty did, too. 'She could be septic,' was all Mia could think of when Letty was taken to the ER.

Mia wondered, if she had missed something when she had patched her up; if there had been another shard of glass in Letty's wrist that she hadn't noticed. She knew she wasn't responsible for Letty's fate, but it still made her question if she was even cut out to be a nurse, or a doctor for that matter should she ever decide to become one. Back home, Mia aimed all her anger, the frustration and her fear at Dom. He was responsible for Letty being in such a bad condition, so if there was nothing she could do for her best friend then at least she could be furious at the person who had done this to her.

Five days after the incident, Dom slowly opened the door, trying not to wake her. Taking a look around, he sighed. He didn't really want to be here but he needed to see how she was holding up, and he needed to tell Letty that he was sorry. He might act like a tough guy all the time, but he wasn't as tough as he made everyone believe. He had been worried sick about her and he was beyond glad that he even had the chance to apologize to her now, because Letty was still alive. Dom couldn't imagine a world without that fierce Latina. That was not a world he wanted to live in.

He walked up to the bed and took a closer look at her. Dom had never seen her appearing so weak. Her usually toned skin was almost pale and her face looked like she had been fighting a flu for two months straight. She still looked beautiful to him. She had no idea how much he actually wanted her, because, frankly, he had been acting like a dick. Dom didn't know how he could've never realized that she was kinda perfect for him with that beautiful female body, the smart brain, and her love for everything that involved cars. Letty was like the Bonnie to his Clyde.

"Jesus Christ, I told them not to let you in here," Letty's sharp voice sounded, her eyes fixed on him.

She hated hospitals and even more hated the fact that she was in this place as a patient, not a visitor, but the infection had gotten worse so quickly that she might never have made it had she not been brought here. As far as she knew, her blood functioning had been horribly low, and she'd been quickly hooked up to IV lines and blood transfusions. Now that she was out of intensive care the only thing reminding her of it was that plastic bag with IV fluids still in sight. Letty wanted to take a look at her arm, but couldn't do so, because it was bandaged. Had the accident really been that bad?

"I know," Dom stated quietly.

The hospital stuff had told him that he wasn't welcome here; that Letty had explicitly said to keep Dominic Toretto out of her room, and if he was really honest with himself then he had to admit hearing that had hurt him and made him really sad. But he hadn't been willing to give up and go back home, so he had found a way to see her, even if it was against her will.

"How did you get in here?" Letty asked, groaning with pain.

"I sneaked in," Dom explained. "I just needed to see you... see how you're doing and–"

"Well, I'm fine, so you can go now," Letty snapped at him, closing her eyes for a moment.

She couldn't stand him right now. After all, he was the reason why she was here. She had been fine with that damn car stunt he had tried to show off, but things had changed now. His fucking macho move had gotten her to the place she hated most in the world. She felt sick, weak, and that was the worst feeling she could ever have. She hated feeling this way. She hated that he had made her feel this way. He was an idiot, and as much as she liked him, she just wanted him gone. Out of sight.

"You almost lost your arm, Letty, you're not fine," Dom noted, his voice raised a bit. "And I'm sorry I– I'm sorry for what happened, okay? I didn't mean to– I thought– Well, I came here to apologize, so–"

"So you did," Letty continued to make him feel unwelcome as she opened her eyes again, shooting Dom a look that matched her attitude. They both stared at each other for a long while until Letty rolled her eyes, tired of him still not making any attempt to leave. What did he expect? That she was happy to see him? She needed more than just a day to get over this. Maybe when she got out she could forgive him, but all she could think of right now was what had gotten her here. Who had gotten her here.

"Damn the day you were born, Dominic Toretto," she hissed.

"Oh, c'mon now!" Dom grinned. He didn't want to, especially knowing how angry Letty was with him, but he couldn't help it. "You like me. I know you do." No matter how she acted right now, he was sure that she still cared about him. Well, he hoped she did, because he really did care about her. A lot.

"I like your sister," Letty mumbled, "And that's the only reason you're still breathing," she added, looking at him. "Because she'd kill me if I did anything to you."

"What you wanna do to me, huh?" Dom asked with a teasing smirk on his face, obviously suggesting something.

He approached her bed, but she threw a box of Kleenex at him the second he moved. And when he took another step towards her, a plastic plate followed, loaded with her lunch for the day. Dom had to laugh at her hostile attitude. If she cared enough to throw things at him, instead of just ignoring him, than wasn't that a good sign? At least she gave a damn about him. Maybe she didn't want to, but she cared, one way or the other. All he needed to do now, and for the next few months probably, was trying to get back in her good books – if he had ever been in there at all.

"What the fuck are you waiting for? Get out! Leave me alone!" Letty shouted, throwing the book at him Mia had gotten her the other day, and immediately felt her left arm hurting from the movement.

"I'm waiting for the moment until you run out of things to throw at me," Dom chuckled.

"I'm gonna throw myself at you, if I have to," Letty grunted, making Dom laugh out loud.

"Well, suit yourself. I sure as hell don't mind," he commented in a way that left no doubt about the dirty nature of his thoughts.

"God, Dom, you're disgusting!" she screwed up her face, lowering her upper body back on the mattress. "I wish your parents had gone for a walk instead of... making you. They did good making Mia but you're–"

"Leaving," Dom stated.

"You are?" Letty frowned, quickly sitting back up. She had to close her eyes for a moment when her head started to hurt from the fast movement she had made. That's why she didn't see Dom nodding, his chest rising and falling in a sigh. "You're leaving?" Letty asked again, wondering what had made him change his mind all of the sudden.

"Yeah... I said I'm sorry, and you really do seem fine, so–"

Dom shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't mad, or sad, he just didn't want to fight with Letty anymore. Looking at her, he could tell she was tired and needed some rest. He wanted to give her that. The comments about him being such an ass she wished he'd never been born were just said in the heat of a moment. He was sure of that. Well, almost sure. She truly didn't mean it like that, did she? If only he had acknowledged her being around sooner. Maybe things would've been different then and he wouldn't be standing here trying to figure out a way to talk to her without pissing her off.

"You know that stunt could've killed you," Letty stated, finding it weird how he suddenly acted. Had she said something wrong? She was just mad at him. And hadn't she every right to be that?

"Ride or die," Dom answered half-smirking. That's when Letty knew he wasn't actually sad or anything. Probably nothing she said to him could ever damage his ego to an extent where he was really hurt. Dom seemed to be that person with a skin as thick as a concrete wall. It was impossible to get under his skin. Only his little sister could do that, because she was so close to him. She was the only one who knew exactly which buttons to push. But maybe, Letty thought, she'd learn that too with him someday.

"Oh, is that like your mantra or something?" She released a small chuckle, raising an eyebrow at him. "Ride or die?"

"I've always been doing that, you know that," Dom retorted amused, "and the way I see it, you do too." Letty laughed, and Dom grinned. "Seriously, you did good. I didn't think you could pull that off... win that race, but the way you handled those guys, I gotta say–"

"Well, unlike some people, I know what I'm doing," Letty teased. "And if you'd just stop being such an ass all the time you might actually see what else I can do," she told him in all seriousness, making sure to add something that didn't make it seem like this was all about her. "I mean, us... girls... what we can do."

Dom looked at her, smirking. Of course he'd noticed how quickly Letty had reworded her sentence. As if he could've missed that. The game was totally on, he told himself. He'd get close to her, he knew he would. And that was exactly what he wanted right now. Touch her, kiss her, feel her. He probably would need to haul out the big guns, Letty wasn't easy to impress, but that was a challenge he was more than willing to accept. He might be an ass, but he'd soon be something else to her, too.

"That was like 15 years ago, Dom," Letty laughed softly against his chest. "Plenty of time to get to know you and figure out you're hardly the ass you made people think you are." Backing away, she looked him in the eyes. "I really hated you for putting me in the hospital," she smirked.

"I figured as much when you threw things at me," Dom laughed.

Using his fingers, he brushed away a strand of Letty's hair that seemed to blur her vision. He kissed her on the temple, breathing in her scent, and when he looked back into her beautiful eyes, it was like her love was shining right through them. It made him feel so alive. This was by far the best birthday he'd ever had. Finally, he had everything he ever wanted. Well, except for one little thing that he still wished to have.

Letting out the softest sigh, Letty snuggled into him, allowing him to pull her even closer. Dom held her pressed against him all night long. He didn't fall asleep right away, as his mind was busy thinking about everything they had gone through. They were stronger now than they had ever been, he was sure of that, but they still had so much to fix, so much to process – to forgive. And Dom knew a lot of it depended on him, because he was the one who had fucked up the most. He was the one who needed to find a way to forgive her as well as himself.

He remembered how she had told him that they would figure it out, because they always did. Back then, he didn't trust her words enough to stay, even though he should have. But now, he did. He believed in his heart that no matter how much time they needed to get through this, they'd be healed. And even if he was wrong to believe this now, he'd stay until the bitter end. Letty deserved that much. He had plans; plans to show her that his intention to be a better man wasn't just a hollow promise. He meant it. And once they were in Cuba, she'd see that too.