Author: Moon Roses or Moony
Rating: R for language
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Feedback: Not necessary but greatly appreciated.
Recap: Life did suck sometimes, she mused to herself. But at least she got to kiss Leon. She grinned at nothing before jogging to her car. Waving at the Toretto crew who were still standing on the porch she shouted, "Lett! Call me later!" Sliding into the driver's seat she started the car and followed her brother and team back home.

Chapter Thirteen

"Jesus V! Stop starin' and just do it," Shorty grumbled at Vince.

Sure the bruises were bad. She knew that. But were they really that horrible? Because the minute Vince had seen them he dropped the suntan lotion and just stared at her. The anger and frustration in the house had escalated until Shorty had been driven from the house and out to the pool. Her team just needed a little time to cool off. So, while they were cooling off mentally she had decided to cool off physically. She had retreated quickly, throwing on a purple bikini and pulling a beater on over top, before dashing outside.

"Vince!" Shorty yelled as she turned her head over her shoulder and glared at him.

"Huh?" he mumbled, completely lost and utterly confused as to why she was yelling at him.

"Lotion. Skin. Combine them," Shorty shrugged at him as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Vince grinned at her frustration and leaned down to pick the bottle up. Squirting some onto his open palm, the smell of coconuts and banana wafted to Shorty's nose and she breathed deeply. The lotion was cool on her back as Vince massaged it into her skin as gently as possible. Closing her eyes she surrendered to the feel of his coarse hands on her back. He would have made an amazing masseuse; Shorty mussed to herself just as Vince dropped the bottle into her hands and stepped back. "Done," he grunted at her before taking a running leap off the diving board.

Shorty shook her head in amusement as he splashed around in the water like a big kid. Generally he was a big kid, he still got wedgies, wet willy's and Shorty had even convinced him to play hide and seek in the dark with her and Letty a few weeks back. Squirting some lotion into her hand she spread it out evenly over the rest of her body and collapsed on a lawn chair. Pulling her hair up into a simple ponytail she laid her head down and basked in the feel of the sun against her sore back. It was relaxing and exactly what she needed right now. Closing her eyes she let her mind wander.

Her thoughts settled immediately on Leon. That kiss had been unreal. She had definitely enjoyed it, that was a given. But what happened now? He knew how she felt about him. The kiss spoke for itself, but honestly. What now? Did they remain friends? Did he feel the same way? What was Hector going to say? What was Vince going to say? Was she making everything complicated?

Heaving an exasperated sigh Shorty decided the best thing to do was wait and see how it played out. She'd already proved her point - quite clearly in fact, and the next move was in Leon's hands. What he did now was his problem.

"SHORTY! PHONE!" Pedro shouted as he opened the screen door and came out in his trunks with a few towels slung under one arm.

"Tell 'em to come over if they gotta talk to me. I ain't gettin' up," Shorty called back to Pedro and laughed when he raised his middle finger, turned around and went back into the house to pass along the message.

When he returned seconds later he was leading Miguel, Marvin and Beto, all of whom were wearing swim trunks as well. Dropping the towels next to Shorty's lawn chair they all jumped into the pool, startling Vince who was relaxing on an air mattress. The aftershock of four big men jumping in the pool at the same time flipped the mattress and Vince surfaced amongst laughter. His dark hair plastered to his face as he pulled himself from the pool and hauled his body over to the lawn chair next to Shorty.

"What you wanna do tonight?" Vince asked her as he rubbed a towel along his body, before collapsing next to her.

"I just wanna relax," she answered and turned her head to look at him.

"Sounds good," he mumbled as he scratched behind his ear absently.

Shorty propped her head on her folded arms and played her eyes over her teammates in the pool. She had told Vince she wanted to relax but how could she? Between thoughts of Race Wars, Leon, and Spence's team, she was driving herself nuts. The workload had already been heavy as hell, and now with four weeks to go she would be in the garage almost twenty-four hours a day. At least while she was working she could keep her mind off Spence, and his lost friendship. Shorty knew she had done the right thing, but why did the right thing have to hurt so much?

And Leon. Shorty had wanted to steer her thoughts away from him for the time being until she could figure her heart and head out. But her brain had rarely ever listened to her before, so why should now be any different? Damn her and her uncooperative brain. Muttering obscenities under her breath she laid her head on its side only to find Vince staring at her.

He watched her silently, a huge grin spread across his face. "What's with the silly smile?" he asked her.

Shorty's eyes, covered in dark shades expanded, but she worked to keep the rest of her face impassive. Shit. "Silly smile? What the hell are you talkin' about?" she grumbled.

Vince laughed while pointing at her lips, "That one. The one that says I met a guy." He fluttered his lashes at her playfully.

"I do not have a silly smile. Piss off," Shorty muttered before turning her head in the other direction, away from Vince. Damn it. He definitely knew something was up and it was only a matter of time before he found out.

The rest of the day was spent doing exactly what Shorty had wanted, just relaxing. She had managed to avoid all of Vince's questions and stupid comments about her silly smile. Hector had followed the example of Pedro and he too had come out to relax by the pool. Talking, joking, and laughing replaced the tension from earlier in the day and Shorty was able to push any thoughts of Leon from her mind.

Shorty and Vince were the only ones left outside when Beto called "GRUB!" from the house that evening. Silence had descended between them in the fading sun and they had stayed outside together lounging. So when Beto finally called them in for dinner Vince jumped up immediately, tripping over his towel and landing on his stomach in his rush to get to the kitchen. Shorty burst into laughter, slapping her knee while Vince hopped up just as quickly as he had fallen and took off for the house at full speed. Following behind him at a more leisurely pace she appeared in the kitchen and sat down at the table, her mouth dripping with anticipation as she spied Beto's fajitas.

The meal was loud and obnoxious, and her team had their own way of showing they were thankful that she was home safe. They were still angry that she had put herself in such danger, but as ecstatic as they were about her being alive, they still demanded she make up for their hours of worrying. So, when everyone had finished dinner they forced her to do the dishes, something she had not done in years. Shorty gave in relatively quick though, forcing Vince to help her out as well.

Vince grumbled through the entire experience until finally he threw the drying towel on the counter, "I bet if we call Mia over here she'll do the dishes."

Rolling her eyes Shorty handed another dish to Vince and laughed, "I'm not gonna call her. She's already cleanin' up for your lazy ass."

"So? She's a woman. She likes to clean,' he muttered but took the dish handed to him anyways.

Shorty shook her head at him in amusement. Leave it to Vince to make some stupid ass comment about women in the kitchen. Normally she would have laughed right along with him, but not when she was elbow deep in suds. She knew the team only wanted to pay her back, but why put her through such painful torture? Heaving the last platter into the water she quickly cleaned it before handing it to Vince.

Unplugging the sink, Shorty wiped down the counter before drying her hands and hanging the towel from the oven door. "Now what?"

Shrugging at her Vince hung his towel from the oven door as well and faced her. "What you wanna do?"

"Man, I dunno. Watch a flick? Sleep? You gonna crash here or you want me to take you home?" Shorty yawned.

"Can I have the left side?" he grinned.

"I'm too tired to fight you for it, so yeah," she laughed and opened the door to the basement. "Night boys" Shorty called over her shoulder as she descended the stairs. Vince followed her into her room where she quickly grabbed some boxers and a wife beater from the dresser. "You pick the movie."

Shorty shut the bathroom door behind her and crossed to the mirror. The face that looked back her was nothing like her own. She was slightly swollen despite keeping frozen peas on her wounds for most of the day. Her bruises, now that they had time to color drastically, were horrific. Staring at her image she remarked at how bad the previous night's situation could have been. She could have died. Or worse, Leon could have died. Her stomach clenched at the thought of losing him, at the thought of taking him away from his family. She was grateful for whoever had been looking out for them.

Turning away from the mirror she started the shower and stood beneath the stream. This water was not Mexican ocean but it still settled her soul. She was going to have to make a lot of hard choices in the next few days. Maintaining silence with Spence at the top of the list. Shorty knew she had made the right decision regarding her friends and families safety but none the less she would miss the team. Nothing could compare to her family or her friends on the DT team, but she felt drawn towards those men. Perhaps they reminded her of the boys she had left behind in New York. They certainly had the same lifestyle.

Turning the shower off she dressed in her boxers and wife beater, running a brush through her hair as she went. She could not think anymore. Her brain felt like it was a cinder block of negative emotions and it was exhausting trying to work through them all. Sliding into bed she scooted towards Vince's warm body and spooned his side. He started the movie and pulled her closer to his body tangling a hand in her wet hair. "Don't ever leave me," he whispered and placed a kiss on her forehead.

The tears that had threatened to spill all day finally did – a single tear running down her cheek and landing on Vince's chest. She knew Hector would miss her desperately, she knew her team would be crushed, but they would survive. They would pick up the pieces of their broken home and eventually move on. But she was unsure what would happen to Vince if she died. She had heard from multiple people that she had changed the man. He retained his usual brashness but somehow he was softer with her. He was for lack of a better term, maturing. Growing up. Settling down.

"I won't," she breathed and closed her eyes. She fell asleep soon after and slept through until morning.

When Shorty awoke the next morning she was laying on her stomach with Vince's body sprawled across half of her own. His face was turned away from her and his back rested heavily over her own, his leg bent at the knee and his foot resting between her knees. She could tell they had been laying in this position for quite a long time as she pushed her stiff body up, flopping Vince over onto his stomach. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head cracking her back and groaning in pleasure.

"Easy Grandma," Vince mumbled into his pillow as he turned his head to face her. His eyes clouded and his mouth dropped open as he spied the bruises on her face. "Oh man, you look like shit."

"Thanks V," Shorty answered and climbed out of bed. Grabbing a pair of sweats off the floor she pulled them on and tugged the blankets off Vince. "Get up, let's go do something."

"Let's sleep," Vince answered and grabbed her around the waist pulling her back to the mattress. "Get back in here." He nuzzled his face into her hair and huffed a huge breath before settling down comfortably.

"Come on you lazy ass! Let's go catch the Dodgers game,' Shorty said and pushed hard against the mattress knocking Vince to the floor. She rolled over and looked over the side of the bed at the man picking himself up. He rubbed a hand through his hair and reached out, flicking her hard on the forehead. "Ouch V!," she pouted and rubbed the small welt she felt forming next to a slightly larger bruise already formed.

Vince sighed but stood completely and heaved the comforter and sheet back onto the bed. Shorty quickly made the bed as Vince scoured her drawers for some of his clothes. When he had found a clean pair of boxers, wife beater, and jeans he disappeared into Shorty's bathroom to shower. He left the door wide open and Shorty shook her head as she watched him strip naked and step under the water. She left Vince to shower and made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat and see what her boys had planned for themselves for the day.

Her team were all sitting around the table sipping coffee and eating Eggo's when she slumped into her seat. They each gave her a grave smile as they saw her bruises but she had heard all she needed from them yesterday. Hector poured her a glass of orange juice and set it in front of her before rubbing his knuckles gently over the bruise on her lower jaw. "Even like this you're still beautiful, Michael," he smiled down at her.

"You're such a bad liar," Shorty laughed but inwardly she felt much better. She had also seen how dark the bruises had become over the night. They were much gruesome than they had been yesterday but the swelling had gone down considerably. She looked like she had been in a fight for sure, but if anyone asked maybe she could convince them she had been in a car accident.

Vince surfaced shortly after she had finished her breakfast so she left him to find himself food and quickly hopped in the shower. Pulling on a Dodger's jersey over a small pair of shorts she slid her feet into socks and calf high yellow Dr. Marten boots. Shorty bounded up the stairs and pranced to the living room where the boys were watching a movie. She hurried to the closet and shifted through the top shelf until she found a foam finger. She pulled it on and jumped around landing in a squat and lifted the finger triumphantly above her head. "Get dressed in the dark again?" Vince snorted as he gazed at her outfit.

Shorty looked down at herself in confusion and glanced back at the laughing boys. She didn't understand why they were laughing so she shrugged and let her foam covered hand fall to her side. "The finger is mandatory for ball games V," she answered and raised the finger over her head again.

"Those boots are straight out of the 80's," he laughed as he gazed at her mustard yellow lace up's.

"Fuck no they aren't you tacky gorilla. By the way, Billy Idol called, he wants his leather wrist cuff and fishnet beater back," she replied sarcastically as the boys dissolved into laughter again. "These boots are classic. Lett would like them!"

"Yeah, cause Letty's fashion sense is high class."

"Shut up," Shorty laughed as she pulled Vince to his feet and towards the door. "You sure you boys don't wanna tag along?"

"Watch you hoover through a dozen hotdogs and snow cones? I think we'll pass," Beto answered.

"Suit yourselves," she called over her shoulder as she shoved Vince through the door and towards her car.

Shorty sped the few blocks to Dodger Stadium and jumped from the car excitedly. She hadn't been to a ball game since she had left Los Angeles. Her father had brought her as often as possible when she was younger and it'd been some of the best times of her life. Hector hated baseball and never wanted to tag along so she got to spend the whole day alone with her father. She sat on his shoulders and ate her way through hotdogs and snow cones until she was bursting. After the game was over he would piggy back her to the car and ruffle her hair when he buckled her seatbelt for her. Once she had moved to New York she had felt no desire to attend a Yankee's or Met's game without her father by her side.

Now, although she was excited, she still felt something was missing as she walked to the ticket counter and purchased two seats. They quickly passed through the gates into the stadium and Shorty immediately bought a Dodger's ball cap for Vince and jammed it over his unruly hair. "Now you look L.A," she giggled. Grabbing his hand she tugged him to the nearest food stand and ordered four Corona's and four hotdogs. "You want anything?" she asked.

Vince sputtered and looked at her like she had grown another head. He watched as her lips broke into a smile and she laughed as she handed the money to the lady at the till. When the food and beer were set in front of her she took two plastic cups and a small box of hotdogs while Vince grabbed the remaining beers. Shorty quickly led the way to their seats and collapsed into them quickly. Cracking the lid off one of her cups she sipped back the frothy beer. It was definitely a new experience to be able to drink beer at the game. She fondly remembered trying to get her father to slip her a sip but he'd steadfastly refused every time.

Shorty smiled at Vince and wrapped her arm around his own. "Thanks for comin' Ol' Coyote," she said and placed a kiss on his cheek. "This is gonna be ballin!"

A/N: Did anyone see Grey's this week? How intense! I shed a tear for Henry. He reminded me so much of Denny, and I sobbed like a child when they killed him off.

Anyways, I wasn't going to post this until Monday but I found a few minutes to get it up. Thanks to my brilliant reviewers, bizchelc, Love Ink, and Alez. Also a special thanks to Are You Afraid Yet (kick ass penname by the way) and sweetp63 for the story alerts! As usual, if you enjoyed it let me know. If you didn't, let me know that as well. I hope you keep reading either way!